Kamen Rider x Kamen Rider Ex-Aid x Ghost: Last Encore
by sakemaker
Summary: Awakening in a classroom in a virtual world, Hojo Emu, along with Tenkuji Takeru, must find a way to escape. However, to do so, they must fight the Holy Grail War in the Moon Cell to ascend the ladder and reach the top. But time is ticking before the Moon Cell is destroyed, and Emu must face another threat from within himself...
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

Chapter 1: Prologue

A young girl, in a brown school uniform stained with red, dissolving into black, looks up in the sky.

Her eyes drained of life, but still moving.

Above her, a battle rages on.

The red swords-woman clashing with the gold figure in the sky.

He is sitting, unperturbed.

She is flying, wounded and struggling,

yet pressing on, unyielding.

Streaks of yellow follow her, mirroring every step, then exploding around her.

The red swords-woman dodges.

She takes one last step and rushes forward.

The gold figure, disdainful, a face annoyed but not arrogant, watches on.

She rushes forward. He holds out his palm

Blood.

Spurting from her mouth.

From the hole in her chest.

and as she falls, a gold spear descends, and forces the woman down.

And as they pass each other, they can only look at each other for an instant

before she flies past and strikes the ground

A crater in her wake.

This is a story you have heard before,

but how will the doctor gamer change anything?


	2. Chapter 2: Preliminaries

Chapter 2: The Preliminaries

Emu opened his eyes.

A landscape unfamiliar lay out before him.

No.

Not a landscape

A room.

White. As the coat he wears.

Bare. Like his mind at this moment

Not a soul in sight.

 _A classroom?_

He turns, looks round. Unsure. Confused.

Then, he blinks.

In that blink, the room is stained red.

Splashes of blood. Everywhere.

And on the floor are bodies.

Bodies of girls.

Bodies of boys.

All wearing the same uniform.

And he looks down.

His formerly white coat is stained red like the room.

Completely.

He looks at his hands in horror. Covered in blood.

He recoils. Looks at the corpses.

They open their eyes.

 _You are us._

 _We are anger, hatred, resentment._

 _That is our true nature._

 _And we are you._

Then intense emotion ran through his mind.

Anger

Hatred

Resentment

And in that instant, he cried out in fear.

Emu fell backwards from his seat with a yelp. It seemed that that dream sequence he had gave him a bit of a shock.

Well, that is an understatement.

"Hojo Emu?"

A teacher in front, with glasses and a light-blue suit, glanced at him with disapproving eyes. Emu raised his head, rubbing it, and responded with a "Huh?"

"I understand that this class is boring for you, but it is important, so please pay attention."

The whole class chuckled.

Emu looked around. The same classroom? What that just a dream?

As he observed the clear blue sky outside, pondering, he heard someone in front speak to him.

"That was pretty bad"

"You can't be falling asleep during class"

A dark-blue haired boy and a bubblegum-pink haired girl ( _Bubblegum pink? That can't be a natural hair colour,_ Emu thought) had turned to him and uttered those words one after the other.

 _Who were they again?_ Emu wondered. Then their names streaked through his mind.

 _Shinji Matou. Misao Amari._ _They were your friends from the beginning of high school_

He did not know how he knew that. It just came to him. He was fairly sure that he had never seen them before, but at the same time, he knew who they were.

Emu took that time to look outside again and focus on his surroundings.

A massive school complex of glass towers, surrounded by a forest of trees. A mirrored tower with a number 60 on the top, and a giant tower of orange screens in the middle of an amphitheater. It looked like there were names written on the screens. Names?

"Essentially, servants are luminaries who enable the weaponization of human history. Summoning heroes from history, materializing overwhelming power though recreating myths. These miracles are accomplished using the photonic paracrystal body, the oldest artifact in the Solar System, the spiriton computer known as the Moon Cell…"

I'll spare you the details of what you already know, but clearly this confounded Emu.

 _Luminaries? Paracrystal? Spiriton? What is this?_

It looks like I'll have to accommodate into this new world, he thought, as he focused his mind on the teacher's words.

"…while it is only natural to be interested in its structure, under no circumstances should you approach the incinerator. Half of the students who've gone there fell victim to suicide by data corruption."

"What are you talking about, teach? I wouldn't go near Limbo if someone paid me to." Shinji snarked.

The teacher smiled.

"That's the spirit. With that, all your classes are over. Make sure you don't waste what little time you have left at this school"

 _All of them? Is it graduation day or something?_

The teacher bowed and left.

As the students filed out of the classroom and down the steps, talking amongst themselves merrily like normal students do, Emu remained in the classroom, mulling through what he had heard. Then, he heard a familiar voice.

"Emu-sensei? Is that you?"

Emu looked up.

Tenkuji Takeru was standing at the doorway. Unlike the other students, he was wearing what he normally wore: a traditional floral pink kimono-stlye jacket with a red belt around his waist.

"Takeru-san! You're here too?" Emu said as he stood up quickly.

"Yes. I can't believe that I would encounter you here! Plus, you can see me!"

"Of course I can. Wait, you mean that no one else can see you here?"

"That was the case back when I was a ghost. Ordinary people couldn't see me, but those who have met me before can." Takeru explained to Emu. "I don't know what this place is or why I'm here. I've been trying to ask people, but they all can't see me."

"I don't know, but we need to ask someone-"

"What's the matter, Emu?"

Shinji and Amari had appeared at the doorway. Emu quickly moved to look at them.

"You always keep to yourself if we leave you to your own devices. Plus, you're even talking to yourself now! I guess it falls to Amari and my magnificent self to-"

"-have lunch together again, right?"

Emu looked for Takeru, but he seemed to have vanished.

"Well yeah, something like that." Shinji replied to Amari.

Emu figured he may as well go along. After all, he needed more information about the area.

"Sure."

* * *

Emu walked along with Amari and Shinji, passing through long glass corridors and going outside to a sunny day. As he observed the area around him, Emu felt a sudden feeling of black running through his mind.

 _Hatred? Why am I feeling hatred? This isn't what I normally feel._

He didn't know why he could possibly know what he normally felt like. It was still a blur…

"When you were talking earlier, you mentioned Limbo, right?" Amari asked Shinji.

"I still haven't been there."

 _Of course you haven't, you selfish little coward._

What?

Who said that?

However, Amari and Shinji kept walking as if no one had said anything.

 _Was that me?_

"Me neither"

"I've heard all kinds of rumours about it"

They say it's the remains of something disposed of as waste long ago, Shinji explained. A place where you see horrible things. Nightmares attack you and leave you unable to return."

 _Nightmares?_

Emu recalled the nightmare that happened before he woke up in class. Who were those two women? What were the corpses?

"Why does such a place even exist in this school?" Emu asked.

"How should I know?"

"Come to think of it"

Emu stopped and looked at Shinji.

"Why does this school exist at all?"

It had been the question plaguing his mind ever since he first came. The singular lesson, the fact that school seemed to continue even after the final lesson ended, the weird landscape.

Shinji and Amari looked at Emu incredulously. Then, they heard a commotion to their right and they looked down into an arena below they were passing by.

A chess game was being played. A blond-haired Caucasian boy with an orange uniform and glove was playing against a more regular-looking Japanese guy. The chess game was shown holographically on a larger chessboard floating above them.

"Leo's incredible! He's up against the president of the chess club, yet he seems to be winning decisively!"

"That's Leonardo Bistario Harwey for you! I'd expect nothing less from the heir of the West European Financial Group"

West European Financial Group? Emu couldn't recall an organization with that name existing where he came from. Then again, he couldn't recall much.

As Leo played his move, the Chess Club president looked extremely flummoxed. He shakingly reached out his hand and moved his Queen to take a Bishop putting his King in check. Leo made his final move with the Queen, then, with a smile on his face, pointed and said

"Checkmate"

A white spike then suddenly flew out of nowhere and stabbed the Chess Club President through the chest. He groaned, then fell sideways, blood seeping out rapidly.

In the distance, the orange tower gained a white screen. The one with Leo's name on it.

Emu's doctor instincts kicked in, and he ran down to the arena as fast as he could.

Leo got up and, waving to his fans, withdrew coolly.

"Leo's as impressive as ever", Amari said with a hint of admiration in her voice.

"Don't go turning into another one of his fangirls. You're _my_ girlfriend, aren't you?"

"Jealous? Don't worry, you're the only one for me, Shinji. Huh?"

Amari turned around.

"Where's Emu?"

Emu leaped on stage and rushed to the fallen student's side. He rolled him over and tried to stem the bleeding by applying pressure to the wound. But the person's lifeless eyes made Emu falter. Now stained with the chess president's blood, he got up and gripped his chest.

 _Hatred. Hatred. Hatred._

He felt it again. Like last time. But this time, it was clearer. How could someone be killed like this just for losing a chess game?

"You're a sentimental one, aren't you?"

A girl with twintails and a red jumper with a cross on it stood behind Emu. Her blue eyes observed the corpse.

"This isn't anything particularly unusual."

"What… Why…"

"Do you know where he's headed?"

Emu could only look and stare. The girl's blue eyes pierced through his, as if they looking deeper .

"…the infirmary. If there is still a chance- "

"The infirmary?"

* * *

"Welcome to the infirmary."

A soft-spoken girl with purple hair and a doctor's uniform greeted Emu and the girl as they entered the infirmary.

"Wow, I didn't know this place existed." Rin noted.

For a school infirmary, it was filled with a large number of beds, as if it was expected that many students would be injured durign the day. A small kettle was boiling in a corner.

 _Surely prevention is better than cure. Why so many beds?_

As the nurse, whose name was Sakura, as Emu found out from the same source that he got the names of Shinji and Amari from ( _but why not the twin-tailed girl?_ Emu wondered to himself), covered the body of the student in a sheet after laying him on a bed, Emu and the girl was waiting outside.

It all came suddenly after a blink. Like in the dream. The entire room was turned red, as if they were preparing to develop a photograph. Emu felt a headache and clutched his head, his eyes twitching.

"Umm, are you not feeling well?"

Sakura had returned and asked the question with a tone of genuine worry.

 _If you care so much, do something about the bodies!_

"No, I'm fine" Emu pushed the newly-formed thought to the back of his mind.

Sakura smiled. "That's good."

"Huh? That's your reaction?" the girl said, as if confused.

Emu looked around again. The beds. So many damn beds.

"Umm, Sempai, I'm sorry. The beds all are all full."

 _Full?! How many have come here? Shouldn't there be more people he-_

 _Shut up. Not now._ Emu told himself.

"That does seem to be the case" the twin-tailed girl noted.

"And so, the student in the rightmost bed… I'd like to put him to rest."

* * *

Emu was not a big fan of euthanasia, but with the number of people in the infirmary, it seems that it was the only thing to do. And so, with a heavy heart (and heavy legs and heavy arms and heavy head…. he's carrying a corpse.), Emu carried the body down into the incinerator.

It seemed a strange policy to not only allow students to die, but to euthanize them and dispose the bodies on campus, but by now Emu had gotten tired of pointing out the strangeness of this school and resolved to move the story along until he understood what is happening.

"Emu-sensei, I'm sorry. Apparently, this place has some sort of security that knows I'm here"

Takeru had reappeared and was walking alongside Emu on his way to the incinerator.

By this time, Emu was around halfway down the stairs to the incinerator, and he was exhausted, yet he attempted to entertain himself by talking with Takeru.

"Security? What kind?"

"Apparently, they see me as a foreign invader, so they tried to pursue me. However, I think I am out of their range. They don't seem to want to come here."

Emu was worried. Where was he taking the body? What kind of place was the incinerator?

"By the way, do you remember anything before coming here?" Emu asked.

"I remember little things, like the fact that I was a ghost before coming here, but other than that, I don't remember how I came here."

"Neither do I."

They had reached the bottom of the stairs. Before them stood an elaborate gate-like door which started to move with Emu's presence, opening a dark passageway inside.

Takeru tried to walk forward, but an invisible wall blocked him, causing him to fall backwards.

"Takeru-san!"

"It's ok. Just go on without me. I'll wait here"

Emu was unsure about leaving Takeru in a place like this, but he had no choice. He had to get rid of the body, as it was getting heavy in his shoulder and mind.

Emu slowly paced through the passageway, reaching a massive abyss with a single pathway leaning over the edge. He gulped and edged towards the abyss.

 _If I fall here like I usually do, it's game over for me!_

And this he knew was from him.

He held the corpse in his arms and let it drop into the abyss. It rolled down the sides and got swallowed by the darkness.

Emu turned to leave, but then, the abyss changed. It showed a burning city in ruins, with no signs of life. He blinked and it was gone.

He gripped his face in horror.

 _You see… horrible things._ He recalled.

He gripped his chest in pain and recoiled.

"You'll get used to it"

Emu turned and found a man in another white coat wearing glasses standing there. Fear gripping his heart, his voiced was muted, unable to respond.

"This is an artificial paradise. If you say nothing, if you feel at ease, you will find happiness.

"In the lowest level, three different illusions overlap. One is the original ruins, one is the shared illusion, the academy's texture. And finally, one is the landscape of the heart that you bring."

 _The burning city… is my heart?_

"As a result, everyone discovers something in this place."

"What you see here is your trauma. God, or the Moon Cell, has created the ideal environment. However, this paradise is merely a fake. Look upon it, this electronic hell created to be heaven."

 _Hell… Heaven…_

A faculty for immature children. Repeating days, activities, students, holes in memories. Anyone on earth who can become a master gets trapped here and suffer, like you.

 _Why was this created?_

"Carry that question into the abyss. All the answers lie there. In the core of the moon, the central mind controlling everything,

The Angelica Cage."

* * *

"Times up. You didn't make it either"

Emu panicked. How long had passed?

"What? What do you mean?"

He turned around, but the man was gone.

Suddenly the ground started shaking. Outside, the entire campus was being dissolved into data.

 ** _100 participants have now qualified for the main tournament. The remaining 28 will be determined by the moratorium garden process. Beginning purge of any remaining life forms and NPCs._**

The announcement rang out over the campus and echoed down the stairways into the chamber of the abyss like a proclamation from a god.

 _I need to get out of here_

Emu turned and ran.

"Takeru! Takeru! Take-"

But Takeru was gone.

 ** _That will complete the final judgement, the final show of mercy. Only those who have eliminated another Master candidate will advance._**

 _So that means…_

"You're telling us we need to kill each other?" Emu shouted as he ran up the stairs. Adrenaline coursed through his body, rejuvenating the previously tired cells in his legs. His doctor's coat fluttered behind him as he focused on reaching the top

 ** _Of course, there was never any leeway in your lives to begin with._**

 ** _Nine remaining_**

When Emu reached the top, everything had degraded and distorted. The walls flashed demented colours and patterns, as if they had been hacked and infected with a virus. This was no longer the campus he left when going down the stairs.

This was Hell.

As he caught sight of Shinji, he ran up to him, panting out "Shinji! Where's Amari?"

"She's fine. We found somewhere safe. I was looking for you. Listen, we have no choice but to hide and wait this out."

"But everyone's getting purged-"

"Just follow me! You don't want to get killed, do you?"

Emu ran with Shinji as fast as he could. No tripping this time. This is life or death.

As they ran down the hallways, the colours continued to twist, turning redder and redder as the seconds ticked down.

"Say, Emu, you're my friend right?"

Emu had never considered that. Was he? Apparently he was, but why did he not have any memories of him beforehand?

"…probably."

"We're best friends, right?"

Shinji slowed down to a halt. And so did Emu.

"I think it's only right to do a thing or two for a best friend."

Emu looked at him, tired and confused.

Shinji turned and smirked, then rushed up to him and stabbed him in the stomach with a knife.

A sharp searing pain swelled up in his chest as Emu felt the blood and stomach acid pouring out of his wound. He yelled out in pain.

"So it's fine right? We're friends! It's fine! Die! Die for me! You don't want me killed right? So die! I'll be the winner of this game! You have no such desire, right?!"

Muddled by the pain, Emu could no longer register his words properly. He looked down at his hands, stained with blood.

 _Not again! Not again! Not again!_

That voice in his head is really raging this time. Again? When did he get stabbed before? He vaguely remembered some sort of fairground. A sword? A Blade?

"You… You…." Emu spluttered, blood pouring out of his mouth.

"Are you really a traitor!?"

"I'm not a traitor! It's what friends do! So die for me!"

Emu tried to turn and run, but Shinji ran his knife into his back stabbing him again and again.

Emu could do nothing but feel the pain. Finally, after numerous stabs, Emu fell to the ground.

On the tower, Shinji Matou's name screen flashed white.

 ** _Prelimiaries complete. The sand in the hourglass has all fallen. Beginning complete purge. Farewell defeated ones. Meet your final rest alongside this transient artificial paradise._**

As the voice spoke, orange data coalesced to form humanoid figures around the campus, which proceeded to march forward with one goal in mind: the eradication of all living organisms on the artificial school plain.

* * *

As the screams of students and NPCs skewered by the figures echoed in the corridors, Emu lay in a puddle of his own blood.

 _Am I going to die here?_

 _It isn't over._

 _Not over yet._

 _Not over yet._

 _Not over yet._

 _Not over yet._

Voices. The same ones from his dream. The corpses were piling up, all disfigured and twisted grotesquely, all soaked in blood.

 _You can't die_

 _Not over yet._

 _You can't die_

 _Not over yet._

 _You can't die_

 _Not over yet._

 _You can't die_

 _Not over yet._

 _You can't die_

 _Not over yet._

 _You can't die_

All the mouths of the corpses moved at once, repeating this mantra of madness. Emu heard it all. The voices of the fallen, of the defeated.

 _It isn't over._

 _Not over yet._

 _I can't die._

 _You can't die._

 _We can't die._

And Emu's eyes flashed open, glowing. But not the usual odd-eyes of Mighty Brothers XX. No.

They were dark purple.

Emu's body rose from the ground in a broken manner, as if he was a puppet on a string. Clutching his front wound, he inched forwards slowly.

 _The incinerator!_

 _Our sword is there._

 _Our past, our present, our future._

The cries of souls continued to reflect off the walls of the corridor, each scream only serving to push Emu forwards.

 _Revenge! Happiness!_

 _If no one else is doing it, I will._

 _I'll do it for all of us too!_

 _After all, I…_

Emu finally found the words that had been forming in his mind from the beginning. What the other him was trying to say. What they were trying to say. What he was trying to say.

"Hate everything on this goddamn moon!"

Behind him, another figure, in the form of a Hero of Justice with a sword, followed, preparing to kill.

As Emu reached the incinerator, he still saw no traces of Takeru. Where had he gone? Why had he abandoned him like this? But he had no time for such thoughts. As he reached the edge of the abyss, the figure notched an arrow on his bow. Then, he fired.

The arrow pierced through Emu's back, sending him hurtling into the abyss.

The figure jumped down.

 _I hate_

 _Why must I do this?_

 _Haven't I killed enough?_

Emu's eyes glowed again, and his body flashed with electricity.

The figure approached slowly, holding a lance. He approached Emu. Then, he raised his arms in preparation to strike.

Emu saw it coming.

He rolled out of the way and slammed down on the floor with his hands. Instinctively, he pushed harder. The floor gave way and he fell through. Down and down deeper into the abyss.

Finally, he hit the floor and lay motionless.

* * *

 _Where… am I….?_

A ray of light shone through the hole, illuminating the area. It was a ruined theatre, like a Roman one, but the walls were faded brown. And in the centre, with the rays as a spotlight, stood a sword plunged into the earth.

 _The sword._

 _The remains to someone's fight_

 _Someone here fought to the last with pride._

 _Go._

Obeying the voices in his head he got up and walked

 _Walk!_

 _Walk!_

 _Faster!_

 _Not to get away from him,_

 _But to fight!_

 _Because here is the proof_

 _That someone fought to the very end!_

Emu reached out and grabbed the sword, blood continuing to ooze out of his wounds. And yet, the sword energized him.

As the figure raised his arm to strike, Emu pulled out the sword.

* * *

A flurry of white rose petals.

And a dazzling flash of red light.

The figure flew backwards.

And the entire theatre burst into light, restoring to its former golden glory.

And in the eye of the fragrant storm, a blond woman with a frilly red dress descended.

Emu could only look on in wonder.

Her feet touched the ground.

Emu gripped the sword. Another enemy?

 _No! Our sword has arisen!_

The woman's hair was gold, and I mean shining gold. Radiant like a meteor blazing through space. And the dress was a deeper, richer red than the blood she was standing on. Her dress exposed her bosom modestly and there was a vertical stripe of transparent material on the front of her skirt, exposing her… leotards.

The woman opened her eyes. They were emerald green, eyes whose sight you could not deflect, and they peered deep into Emu's. Then she spoke.

"I see, so it's you. Your face and appearance are different, but I can tell from your aura that it is truly you."

She stepped forward and took the sword from Emu.

The figure roared and charged forward. The woman elegantly deflected his attacks and pushed the figure backward. He swung his sword. The woman jumped backwards, arching her back gracefully and landing on her feet.

The figure ran forward one last time. The woman closed her eyes, then opened them again, with a resolute glare. She cleanly slashed the figure in one decisive stroke. The figure fell forwards, dissolving into orange data.

Emu could do nothing but stare at the mysterious lady. She turned around and smiled, victorious, and walked up to him slowly. Then she stopped and looked deeper in Emu's eyes.

"Answer me thus! Art thou my Master?" she asked triumphantly.


	3. Interlude 1: Elevator

Interlude 1: Elevator

"Master. No, Praetor."

The red swords-woman, having defeated the stone figure, turned around.

"Behold."

The white rose petals had turned red, and the floor, formerly soaked in blood, was now blanketed in a layer of red rose petals.

The storm of petals continued, and in the centre descended a white cylindrical elevator.

"That is the Moon MIle Ladder. It shall take us to the Angelica Cage to fight."

The elevator touched the ground softly. The petals slowed, as the woman stepped forwards in front of the elevator and gestured towards it.

"Now, let us go!", she proclaimed. She held out her hand. Emu, delirious from pain, remained still.

"The Sea of the Seven Heavens awaits us!"

* * *

Emu sat in the steaming water and looked around. Now that the pain had subsided, his mind refocused, trying to understand what happened.

The bath he was in was grand and luxurious. It was so big it could hardly be called a Bath, more like a swimming pool for the elite, but small enough to be considered "private". The walls were marble, shimmering like the water surface, where more rose petals danced. In the centre, a large red and grey marble fountain, shaped like a flower, from which scented hot water overflowed, filling the room with a dense mist.

"Worry not, thy wounds are healing - the Ladder has that effect. Rest and relax. Thou should first soak in hot water to recuperate your mind and body."

Emu looked down at his naked body. Already, he could see the wounds closing, like the flesh that had been gouged out was growing back. The dried blood was already gone as well.

 _It's true._

Emu had already gotten used to seeing quick recoveries in the hospital, but this quickly? Surely this isn't humanly possible.

 _This must be a different world. There's no way that this is real._

He inspected his arms and as he turned his palms down, he noticed a strange red tattoo on the back of his left hand. It was a fancy insignia, but none that Emu recognised. Emu looked at it carefully.

 _Strange. When did I get this?_

He certainly didn't get it when he fell down into the incinerator, so could it have something to do with the Elevator?

Pensive, he lay backwards, immersing himself in the water again.

 _I need answers_

He looked up at the ceiling, also white, with a circle of pink and a design of a pinker rose in the centre.

"I hear it is supposed to resemble an oriental-style bath, but that doesn't mean much to me."

"I'll just call it a kind of calidarium."

Emu jolted upright. Wait. Where was she speaking from? If she was coming in…

 _Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap._

"I shall join you, Maestro"

And as Emu scrambled to sit upright, the woman appeared. Naked. Luckily, the railings surrounding the bath concealed her more private areas from Emu's gaze, but that was still too much for him. With a yelp, he fell into the water again, and he rapidly covered his eyes, blushing heavily.

"I-I-I didn't see anything! I swear-"

"Hmph. Is my body not satisfactory for you?"

"But… you're naked…"

"That _is_ how people bathe."

 _Such pride in her own appearance._ Emu was not the kind of person to enjoy this kind of thing, but he did not expect the woman to be so open when entering the bath.

 _At least warn me so I can get out!_

"And besides, I do have a name. You ought to use it."

 _Well, you haven't told me it yet. We only just met._

"Because my summoning was rather extraordinary, you do not yet know my true name."

She stepped into the water, and Emu averted his gaze further. His face was now as red as the dress the woman wore earlier.

"And by true name, I mean my real name from history. You will learn it eventually. For now, Saber will do."

 _Saber._

"Yes."

She stood up, and with a wave of her arms she began speaking, as if to address a large crowd, despite her only audience being Emu, who by that time had other things on his mind.

"Among the seven classes of the Holy Grail War, Saber is the most valiant and illustrious"

She paused, as if expecting cries of admiration from the joyous crowd she was addressing. All she got was silence, save the rushing of the water from the fountain and Emu's small whimpers as he continued to look away.

Unperturbed, Saber went on.

"The Moon Cell. The ritual constructed by the spiriton wish-fulfillment machine. The participants must fight until one remains. All for the goal of fulfilling their wish.

You are one of them. One of the 128 Masters"

"Master?"

Emu recalled her calling him that when they first encountered each other. After which she changed to Maestro and called him that ever since.

"I assume I have no need to explain what a Master is."

 _I sort of do._ Emu thought. But he was too reluctant to look at her to respond.

"It is one who has contracted a Servant."

 _You just explained it._

Not really following your own words, huh?

"A servant is a recreation of a hero or famous individual from history. I am one such being. That said, I doubt any of the others are as distinguished as I!"

 _Not only in appearance, but also in stature you are prideful, huh?_

"You say some complicated stuff. Is this like an infodump at the beginning of a game?"

 _Game? Where did he get that idea from?_

"Huh? Everything I have said thus far is the most basic of knowledge."

She stepped forwards and leaned down, her... breasts hanging down like fruits from a tree.

 _No no no, stop. Don't think like that._

Of course, Emu couldn't see them, but he was aware of them. After all, the dress that she wore served little to hide her bosom, and he could see her shadow getting shorter as she leaned, so Emu surmised.

"What is your name?"

Emu timidly turned around, being careful to focus on her face.

"Emu… Hojo…"

"A fine name! Befitting a spiriton hacker."

Is that a complement? Emu tilted his head in confusion.

"How about this? Do you realise this is an artificial spiriton world?"

 _Artificial? Yeah, but spriton?_

"Well, more or less."

Then, the information began pouring into his head, as he recited what he newly remembered.

"A crafted cyberspace, made by the moon's huge mainframe."

"It's called SE RA PH. Do you really not know that? What about the Holy Grail War?"

"I don't know anything about this place, but I feel like I have to escape."

"During the preliminary stage, participants' memories are suppressed. However, once one contracts with a Servant and becomes a Master in the main tournament, their memories should automatically return."

 _Really?_

"They do!" she said firmly. "At least, they should. Can you fight without even knowing why you are here? Losing will cost you your life. Only victory can guarantee your path home. After all, a Spiriton Hacker is connected to this moon through your very soul."

Emu did not respond.

"Not perturbed? In that case…"

She leapt backwards, gracefully like she did back when she was fighting the stone figure, and landed on top of the fountain, smugly folding her arms. Despite Emu's earlier embarrassment, he couldn't help but look up in wonder.

"I expect nothing less from the one who got me. You seem to be quite formidable. Very well. I shall assist you."

* * *

Emu was still quite dazed by the steam and Saber's bold behaviour as he walked out of the bathroom. He went to the room nearest the door. It was more modern, with a sofa along the walls, a glass table and a chest of drawers on which were some glassware and wine. The floors were wooden planks, and some of the wall was too.

As he passed through the doorway and turned the corner, who would he see but Tenkuji Takeru once again. Emu sighed and went up to him.

As soon as Tenkuji Takeru saw Emu, he immediately got up and knelt on the floor, bowing with his head touching the floor.

"Takeru-san, once was alright, but twice?"

"I'm really sorry, Emu. I honestly did not mean to leave you. When the purging happened, they increased the security to ensure a complete wipe of the lower layers. As a result, I needed to run- "

"It's OK. As long as you're safe. Besides, how did you get here?"

"I was about to be caught by one of those figures when I got teleported to a digital sea of data. I was swimming around for a while, until I saw this Ladder elevator. I floated to the door and phased in, and then when I heard your yell, I knew that this was the right place."

Emu groaned inwardly. He was not proud of that yell, and he had hoped that no one had heard it except him and Saber. Oh well, Takeru's not the kind of person who would judge someone because of that, so Emu's fine. But was he the kind of person who yells enough that someone recognises it?

As Emu pondered this, Saber stepped out of the bath. Still naked. Takeru, like Emu did earlier, let out a yelp and covered his eyes. As Emu turned around to see what caused him to yelp, he already knew what he was going to see.

"Who are you, intruder?" Saber demanded as she materialised her sword and took a fighting stance. Despite being naked.

"Please, Saber, put some clothes on! We don't want to see you naked! He's a friend!" Emu cried as he also covered his eyes.

"Hmph. If you insist, Maestro." Looking slightly disappointed, she lowered her sword and went over to another room to change.

"Well, now you know why I yelped earlier." Emu said.

Takeru, with his eyes still covered, looked incredulously at where Saber had been.

* * *

"So, you are a Servant, right?" Takeru asked after Emu filled Saber in on who Takeru was.

"Umu. That I am. A Heroic Spirit of Legend, Myth or History."

"Ah, I see. So, who are you?"

"I cannot tell you yet. Not until later. Not until it is necessary. For now, I am merely Saber. But the Saber Class is the most valiant and illustrious-"

"Hai, Hai, that's enough." Emu cut in. "For now, we need to figure out what we must do when we enter the next floor. What you can do, Saber. And how Takeru-san fits into this."

Then his eyes wondered to a black briefcase with the Genm Corp logo on the front laying on a table near the entrance. Why had he not noticed it before?

"Saber, was that briefcase here when we arrived?"

Saber turned around to look and nodded her head.

"Yes. That black box was there when I led you inside, Maestro. But I thought it was part of the room, so I left it there. Besides, thy wounds needed tending to, and thus I prioritised leading you to the bath."

Emu went over and looked at it. It was similar to the kind that stored the gashats, but larger, as if it held more than just Gashats. Emu opened it. Inside was a Gamer Driver and a Ghost Driver, along with two Gashats. One was Mighty Action X. The other one was blank. Confused, Emu brought it onto the table and took them out.

"My driver! But how? I didn't have it when I came in! Who could have brought this here?"

"I don't know. There's a note inside"

He took out a folded piece of paper and unfolded it. On it was typed a letter to Takeru Tenkuji and Emu Hojo.

 _Hojo Emu and Tenkuji Takeru._

 _As you are aware, you are in a world different to your own. Survive and fight. These tools will help you. Gather the eight Servant Eyecons of the Masters you face. The servant beside you is the first. But be warned. The path you travel on will be wrought with hardship. You will need to escape or pay the price. Endure the game's story and reach the end._

It wasn't signed. Who wrote it? Kuroto? Masamune? Who else? And was this a game world, as the letter said?

Tenkuji looked over the letter and said "It said gather the Eyecons of the Servants. If the Servants are Heroic Spirits, then maybe…"

Emu caught on to what he was saying.

"Saber, can we borrow your sword?"

"Of course, my Maestro."

She materialised her sword and handed to him.

"Be warned though. Only a true swords-woman like me can hope to wield such a beautiful blade elegantly." she said, smugly. Emu ignored her. Tenkuji Takeru had equipped the Ghost Driver in the meantime.

"In advanced, I apologise for what comes next"

Then, he made a triangle with his forefingers and thumbs and drew an eye over the sword. The Ghost insignia blazed on the sword, and Saber found herself being pulled into the eye. As she passed through the eye, she transformed into a floating Red parka with two red dots for eyes which flew around and did her backflip in the air, then posing like Saber did when Emu first saw her. The parka flew into Takeru's Ghost driver. Takeru put his hand under the driver, and out of the eye of the driver came an Eyecon. It was red, with a gold scelera and an emerald iris, and on the top was an Eyeconic Plate with the words ES-01 and SABER written on the top and the bottom of the plate and a picture of a simplified theatre designed to look like a face.

"Are you alright, Saber?" Emu asked the Eyecon.

The Eyecon glowed, and Saber's voice spoke from it. "Umu. This is especially strange. This is like my old palace in Rome, except there is no one here except me!"

Then the Eyecon leaped out of Takeru's hands and the figure of Saber formed again.

"And yet I can return to my old form again! How fascinating".

"That's one down." Emu said.

"We should prepare for the second one."

And as he said that, the Elevator slowed to a halt.

"Behold, this is a battleground for the Holy Grail War. A difficult servant and their master awaits us." Saber announced. And this time, her audience was listening.


	4. Chapter 3: Stratum

Chapter 3: Stratum

As they stepped outside the doors of the elevator, they found themselves on the roof of a large building. The trio could not help but admire the wondrous sight that beheld them. What they saw was a large city, with skyscrapers ablaze with lights. Screens all around showed hordes of people enjoying themselves, revelling as music played from an unknown source. The night sky was lit up with a wide spectrum of jolly colours, shining like stars that rivalled those in the sky. Saber in particular was very taken by the scene.

"What in the world is this?"

This is the battleground of a death game? Emu couldn't help but wonder. He looked at Takeru, and it was clear he was thinking the same thing.

"This is not what I expected!"

In the centre was a large crystal pillar, with specks of light climbing up and down its insides. What looked like glass tubes made up most of the insides of the pillar. Elevators were moving up and down the tubes like the specks of light floating.

"What a wonderful city! What a wonderful festival! But hold on! This is not what I remembered the first Stratum to be."

Emu assumed Stratum means level.

"Umm… Saber. Are you upset?" Emu asked.

"Not at all!" Saber turned to him with an look of pure joy on her face. "I'm surprised."

"The seven stratum of the Sea of the Seven Heavens, fought upon seven battlegrounds. A seven round fight between 128 Masters. Where is the if-you-don't-fight-you-don't-survive tournament? This city… really looks like a city! It even has a festival! I'm very…"

In her joy, Saber could not think of the word to describe how she felt. Then she found one.

"Umu, very interested in this!"

Uh-huh.

It was clear that Emu's mind was on other things. Firstly, why a city? This was a weird stage to select a fight, especially one that was so active. However, upon closer inspection, stranger questions arose in Emu's mind.

Where is everyone?

Despite all the music, there was not a single soul on the streets of the city. If this was a festival, it surely must not be a popular one.

Saber ignored Emu's confused face.

"That over there," She pointed in one direction. "That over there." She pointed at another. "I want to see it all!"

She grabbed the metal handrails and peered down. Then, she heard a whirring noise of an engine above and looked up. A giant aircraft, with headlights, was flying very close to them.

"Yes, Maestro!"

"Maestro?"

Emu was aware that she called him that ever since the beginning, but he still did not know what it meant.

"Umu. You can become one. One who plays me as an instrument, such that even the muses are green with envy."

"So a Musican?"

"You can say that."

Emu remained confused. So did Takeru. Saber noticed their stares and smiled.

"No reaction then?" she asked. Despite that, her face remained smug.

* * *

As they walked along the streets of the large city, Saber took long, determined steps, as if she was eager to see as much of the city as possible. Emu, on the other hand… not so much. Although the city was just as marvellous on the ground as it was on the roof, the lack of people on the streets still unnerved him. Takeru was walking alongside Emu, trying to maintain some conversation with Emu.

"Hey, Emu. So, I was wondering. What happened on the bottom floor after I had to hide from the figures? How did you get here? Don't tell me you had to kill someone!"

"No, I didn't. I got killed. Do you remember that guy with the Wakame hair? I found him after I ran up the stairs, and although he told me to follow him to a hiding place, after a while he turned around and stabbed me."

"Stabbed you?!"

"Yes. First in the chest, then many times in the back. I was dying, but somehow I found the energy to stand up and drag myself back to the incinerator. I was being pursued by one of those figures. However, when I got there and fell to the bottom, I saw her sword stuck in the earth. I pulled it out, and she appeared."

"Interesting. But it is definitely different to what happened to me. I got revived as a ghost, but it appear you are still human."

"Yes, but there was something else. When I was lying on the floor, I heard voices in my head telling me to get up and move, and when I got up, I felt like other forces were commanding my legs to move. I was aware of what was happening, but I didn't feel like it was me getting up."

Saber had led them to a table outside an empty pastry shop and, having taken a plate of cakes from what seemed to be a buffet table full of them, sat down promptly on a wooden chair and ate it with relish.

"I don't know much about this situation, but I need to find out." Emu continued. "If something else happens…"

"It's OK. I'm here, and I can help you. Saber is here too. Right?"

"Umu" Saber affirmed, her mouth full of cake.

They continued to wait while Saber finished her cakes.

"A Servant is a powerful being, but because of that, we consume resources just to maintain our physical form."

"What sort?"

"Mana. In a sense, a sort of life force. When in that compressed form your friend put me in, I sense that it was similar to me being in Spirit form, so if I become a burden on you, let me know."

"No, no, it's fine. You're not a burden on me."

"That being said, I plan to retain this form for a little while longer. I think I know where our opponents are."

"You do?"

 _Well then what was the cake for?_

 _Shut up, she said she needed resources earlier, right?_

Saber gave a smug smile.

"Of course. I was not merely walking around to satisfy my curiosity. I was gathering information."

"I didn't notice anything." Emu said.

"Neither did I." Takeru added. Well, about the location of their enemy, at least.

"I did though," Saber responded, her smug smile growing even larger. "Though I am also availing myself fully of this opportunity for enjoyment, but this is a separate matter. Even if the scenery has changed, this is still the first Stratum. In any case, finding our opponents should be our top priority. At least, after I finish this cake."

* * *

The trio arrived outside a wooden two-storied tavern. It stuck out from the crowd of buildings given the size and the material of its two neighbouring buildings. In fact, it looked like it was squeezed in, squished by the two buildings. Emu couldn't help but wonder what sort of city designer puts a tiny wooden piece of property in a large city of concrete and glass. The insides were dimly lit, and looked like a pub, with wooden tables and chairs and a bar well stocked with liquor. They stepped down the small flight of stairs leading into the restaurant and walked forwards, led by Saber, ever the confident one.

On the tables were different dishes, from baskets of bread to Spanish seafood paella, and mugs of beer in front of every seat. However, this restaurant was abandoned, without a single person sitting in the chairs. One sole woman with crimson pink hair sat at the bar.

"This seems to be the usual hangout." Saber noted.

"Of our opponents?" _So many?_

"Of the Masters."

Of course. That made sense. There were after all 127 other contestants in this war. But if so, where were they? That woman at the bar must have answers.

They proceeded towards the bar.

"Just one, huh?"

Saber sighed, and before Emu could stop her, she declared to the woman:

"Take out your sword, O chosen Master! The time has come to fight for your wish with your life at stake!"

 _No, no, no, no! Do it with more tact! We're only gathering info, how do you know she's a Master?_ But it was too late.

The woman stayed silent. Then, she started laughing.

"What's with you? Is that how you start a conversation?"

Emu mentally facepalmed.

"I thought you were just wearing a fancy dress for the festival, but might you actually be a real servant?" the woman said, as she lifted the glass she was drinking from and peered through the brown liquid inside it. "Or are you just that drunk?"

"I am not inebriated in the least!" Saber retorted. "If you wish to insult me so, stand and fight!"

Emu stayed silent, embarrassed. He didn't know what to say. Should he cut in and stop the argument?

"Woah, sorry, my bad. You were just saying some outrageous stuff that I just had to respond. So, long term sleep, eh?"

"Let me just confirm something." Saber leaned in closer to her. "You are a Master, are you not?"

The woman replied with a shrug. "Dunno."

"Have you not come here to the moon with a wish?"

"Wish, huh?" The woman looked away wistfully. "That brings back memories. I guess I had one of those. He did too, a long time ago."

 _A long time ago?_

"There is no one on this stratum who wishes to fight. It's over. The Holy Grail War."

She raised her glass.

"To the now-abandoned Holy Grail War!"

 _Over!?_

Emu looked at Takeru in confusion. He was equally shocked. If there was no war, how would they get out?

 _No. She must be lying._

"In the end, no one reached the Angelica Cage. The Masters in this town have their every need accounted for. There is no reason to fight."

Saber grunted, annoyed.

"Well, if you don't know, I'll tell you. All Masters here on the first Stratum…"

Then she paused. Then she finished her sentence.

"Sold their Servants."

"Sold their… Servants?"

Saber couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"They revoked their rights as Masters."

She pulled a party popper out of a nearby pot.

"You've seen what this town is like. Today is nothing special. Every day of the year, this town celebrates its Masters who have given up on the Holy Grail War."

She pulled the popper. Confetti blew from the top, showering Saber in a rain of coloured paper. Saber remained unmoved.

"Festivities throughout the town. Parties at the pubs. Masters who sold their servants can live out their lives in leisure."

She threw the now-empty party popper. It hit the wall and landed on one of the tables.

"If you transfer your Servant to the government in the Central Tower, you can settle things peacefully. That is how this Stratum is set up. Well, most people eventually get bored and are now holed up in their homes. What about you, unfamiliar Master?"

Emu stayed silent. What the woman said explained the missing people in the city, and if the Holy Grail War really was cancelled.

 _No._

 _This is wrong._

 _What was all that death for then?_

"Anyway, hauling a Servant around won't get you anything. On the other hand, you're an attractive woman, so there's always that."

Takeru and Emu did not like the insinuation of that last phrase and shifted in their feet.

"How did this happen?" Saber asked. "Are you not all souls who have gathered on the moon with a wish in your heart? Ending up like this…"

She grunted again and stormed out.

"Is there no one left who still gazes up at the sky?" she muttered.

Takeru ran ahead to try and talk to Saber. Emu turned to leave, but was interrupted by the woman:

"Aren't you going to sell?"

He stopped.

"Aren't you going to sell your Servant?"

Emu turned around.

"I won't. Would you take someone else's limbs to replace your own?"

The woman smiled.

"Well spoken. I feel like I heard that kind of grandeur somewhere else a long time ago."

Huh?

"I'm saying there's still another Master who kept their Servant on this Stratum."

And the woman smirked.

* * *

Outside, Saber was waiting with Takeru. Takeru turned to Emu, and Emu made a little smile. Takeru, with a sigh of relief, turned to Saber. She then spoke.

"I apologise. I should not have left before you."

Emu opened his mouth to respond, but suddenly they heard the sound of running footsteps. Saber quickly turned, striking a battle stance. Emu readied his driver, and Takeru materialised his. Then, Emu lowered his driver in confusion

The new arrivals were a group of girls dressed in police uniform, with swords on their belts. They quickly surrounded the trio. Then, the middle girl, evidently the leader, stepped forwards.

"Welcome to the New Ocean City of Cape. We are most happy to have you here, Arrival 404."

 _Are they like a police force?_

"The mayor would like to see you. Please come with us to the Central Tower."

Emu and Takeru were wary, but suddenly Saber gave a cry of intrigue.

"Oh my!" She said, with an eager glow in her eyes. "If it isn't a bunch of good-looking girls who are just my type!"

Emu and Takeru looked at each other.

"Umm… Saber?" Emu asked.

"Yes. I like pretty boys, but I like pretty girls too! Having them around brings up the mood!"

 _So another element of her deviancy has come out. Truly she is a woman of no shame._

"Thank you," the captain of the police force replied.

"No, thank you!" Saber responded with even more vigour. "Pretty girls for armed forces. The mayor of your city has excellent taste."

 _Or he's a pervert._ Emu shuddered at the idea of what sort of mayor would want a force of pretty girls.

 _Then again, a force like that can mentally catch their opponents off guard. I better be careful._

"This is most interesting! What do you think?" Saber continued, addressing the question at Emu and Takeru.

Takeru was the first to voice his own thoughts. "It's… an interesting recruitment choice. I wouldn't do that in the Mayor's position."

Emu agreed. "But for now, let's go with them." he suggested.

* * *

From far above them, through a telescope, the pig-tailed girl from the bottom floor watched them through binoculars on a roof.

"Aw, he went with them. What a shame. And I hadn't seen a new face in so long."

* * *

In an elevator going up the central glass tower, the police girls kept close watch on the trio. Emu was quite uncomfortable with looking at them, and so was Takeru, so they watched the city below shrink as they ascended.

As Emu watched, he noticed his reflection in the mirror. Suddenly, as the elevator passed a horizontal bar, it changed for a split second.

It was smiling.

Not Parado's confident smile, but a malicious one. And its eyes glowed purple.

And at that moment, Emu felt a headache. He shut his eyes.

When he opened them, the room was lit crimson red.

 _Oh no. It's happening again._

He turned around, but everyone else had gone. Saber, Takeru, the girls, everyone.

 _The Holy Grail War._

The reflection spoke these words to him. He turned around again.

 _Yes. It is where we kill each other._

Emu took a step forward and encountered something with his feet. He looked down and, to his horror, a body had materialised. A girl. The one in his dreams. Turning around, he saw more behind him, and turning back, the girl was now lost in a layer of corpses. Emu cried out in shock again.

 _Carve up the flesh, split open the chest, stab into the heart. It is a cruel and merciless fight. Do you have it in you?_

Emu opened his eyes again. The light had returned to normal. He looked around. Saber and the others had returned and were all acting like nothing had happened.

"I'm not sure, but I don't feel like there are any humans in this city." Takeru broke the silence with this observation.

"Yes. They are probably all NPCs. In general, apart from Masters, there are no humans in SE RA PH." Saber responded.

 _A.I._

"Even in the lowest Stratum?" Emu asked.

"All the teachers. And most of the students."

"I see."

"Why? Did you have any friends there?"

 _Friends? What do you mean? The friend I thought I had literally stabbed me in the back._

Apart from Takeru, who he knew before this incident, Emu felt that he was isolated from everyone else in the Lowest Stratum. A fish out of water. A man lost in space and time.

"We have arrived at the Mayor's office."

The elevator dinged. They had reached the top level.

The floor sparked with electricity for a brief moment. Emu recoiled.

 _What was that?_

Saber and Takeru noticed too. However, before they could begin to wonder what it was, the police girls shoved them forward through the open doors of the elevator into a hallway.

Emu took tentative steps forward as the police girls led them down the hall. Then the front most one suddenly turned right and opened a door. Emu stepped through.

They entered a large luxurious office, with two marble pillars flanking the centre where a circle of sofas were positioned. There was a desk near the red curtained windows overlooking the city. And leaning on the table, a hologram smirked, arms crossed, waiting.

It was Shinji.

 _You!_

Anger flared up inside Emu as he remembered the knife that Shinji used to stab him in the back. He clenched his fist, ready to leap at the hologram and pound it to dust-

"Stop!" Takeru cried. Emu paused and looked back. The girls had drawn their swords and were pointing them at him. Had he taken even one step, they would have skewered him there and then.

Emu took a breath and calmed down.

"Thank you, Takeru." Emu said. He then turned to look at Shinji. "What the hell do you want, Wakame-hair?"

"Hey, that's not a nice way to greet your friend, Emu" Shinji snarked.

Emu gritted his teeth, restraining himself.

"Anyways, let's get formalities out of the way." He stretched out his arms.

"Welcome to the New Ocean City of Cape. To be honest, I didn't expect you to come up here from the bottom level. After all, the Holy Grail War and wish fulfilment are a thing of the past. I as Mayor welcome your visit."

He walked out and stood looking the Window.

"This is indeed one of the Seven levels of SE RA PH. However," he tilted his head backwards. "that is all old history."

He turned back round.

"Currently, it's a free city outside of SE RA PH's control."

"Free?" Nero exclaimed, shocked.

"A city where Masters can live freely without being forced to fight battles." He tapped some commands in the air and the room went alive with screen depicting people celebrating, relaxing and going about their daily lives. "It even has its own laws and government."

"And what of the Holy Grail War?" Emu asked.

"There's no such thing anymore!"

"And yet you're buying Servants."

Shinji shrugged.

"I'm just keeping an eye out for the seeds of battle. Efficient, no?"

Emu did not respond.

"Servants are dangerous cyber-weapons. Having one is a burden with no benefit. What people need are NPCs. They can be labourers, spouses, even family! Masters only make up a small part of the population. However, in order to provide comfortable lives for all the Masters, the NPCs as the cogs of the city make everything work!"

By now, Emu was starting to get tired of Shinji's ramblings and was waiting for Shinji to shut up. Takeru was also visibly annoyed.

"All you need to do is sign this contract." A sheet of paper materialised in Emu's hands. "This will transfer your Servant to the city government and register you as a citizen. Eternal happiness awaits you."

Emu looked at the sheet of paper in disgust. Shinji waited, his arms crossed. Takeru peered over Emu's shoulder and quickly skimmed through the text. He too didn't like what he saw.

"What happens to the Servant?" Emu asked.

Shinji thought for a moment.

"They don't go to waste, obviously. They are bound, disassembled reused efficiently as resources for the city."

Takeru and Saber were shocked.

"Then the decision is easy." Emu replied without a moment's thoughts. "I refuse."

"What?"

"I won't let you take my Servant and treat her like an object. I won't throw Saber away. Not even for eternal happiness would I sign this." He ripped the contract in two and threw the pieces on the floor.

Shinji stood still silent for a moment. Then he sighed.

"I guessed this would happen. In that case, I have no choice."

He raised his arms and typed more commands.

"Activate Firewall."

The entre office was surrounded by a red cybernetic wall. This time, Emu knew this wasn't a dream. It seems he will have to fight.

"Unfortunately, I'm going to have to eliminate you."

"Impudence!" Saber materialised her sword and prepared for combat. Suddenly, a red wall rose from the ground cutting off Saber and Takeru from Emu.

"Maestro!"

"Emu-sensei!"

Saber swung her sword and slashed the wall. But Emu had vanished, and so had the girls. All that was left was the empty office.

Shinji laughed.

"Saber! Takeru-san!"

"I interfered with both your sense of vision and bearings. You've been alone from the moment you entered this room. Your Master doesn't use any decent barriers. Oh, and Takeru, was it?"

Takeru turned.

"You can see me."

"Of course. I can see you. I have been able to see you ever since you arrived. You think you can hide behind your invisibility? You will have to be eliminated as well."

"How did you know?"

"Did you think I wouldn't notice Emu talking to himself in the classroom? I thought it was something he did, but I had to make sure, so I ran a scanning program on your group which revealed your presence."

He typed in more commands, summoning three more Servants: Darius III, Leonidas I and Fergus Mac Roich. However, they had orange patches on their skin, as if they were also deteriorating into data.

"These are some promising Servants, so I kept them around to use when necessary.. As Beserkers!"

The three Servants roared.

Takeru manifested his driver. "Saber! Return to Eyecon form now!"

"Why?"

"Let us fight together. I can't take them on myself. I'll show you the power of your new form!"

Saber paused. Then, nodding her head, she returned to her Eyecon form and flew into Takeru's hand. He pressed the side button on the Eyecon and inserted it into the Driver.

 **EYE!**

 **BATCHIRIMINA! BATCHIRIMINA!**

As the driver repeated its standby loop, the parka-like form that Saber took when Takeru first converted her body to Eyecon form emerged from the driver. It spun around and posed. Takeru pulled the lever on the side of the driver and activated the transformation. Shinji remained still, curiously watching the sequence.

 **KAIGAN! SABER!**

 **WIELDER OF THE HEROES' BLADE! LET HER TAKE THE STAGE!**

Takeru's form changed to his Transient form. Its face was a blank slate, awaiting the Damashii to gain its Persona. On the chest, the outline of the Ghost insignia glowed etched beneath a plastic-like shell, with glowing orange lines surrounding it in a pattern. The Damashii landed on Takeru, wrapping itself around him like he was putting on a coat. The persona flipped upward onto the blank slate on the form's face, replacing it with the design of the simplified theatre on the Eyecon, giving the Rider a design like a face. The parka was designed like a version of Saber's dress, divided along the front to more resemble a coat.

Takeru had become Kamen Rider Ghost: Red Saber Damashii.

"Can you hear me, Saber?" Takeru asked.

"Umu. I can hear you. Our souls are now connected. I shall give you my expertise. We will fight together."

And Takeru's mind flooded with Saber's knowledge of sword-fighting. It was different to Musashi's, but still very advanced. Takeru materialised Saber's sword and took a stance, similar to the one that Saber would usually take.

"Three against one…" Saber said in Takeru's head.

Shinji inputted commands and the Berserkers charged. With a battle cry from Takeru and Saber, they charged forward.

Fergus swung his drill sword. Takeru saw the strike incoming and quickly deflected it with his own sword. Leonidas thrusted forward with his spear, and Takeru dodged it, running to the side towards Darius. Darius swung his axes down, breaking the floor beneath Ghost. He leapt backwards before they could hit him and backflipped through the air to avoid Darius's second axe swings.

"Maestro!" Saber's voice rung out from the Damashii. "Don't you dare die" They landed on the table and narrowly dodged Fergus's sword. "Before I make it to you!"

On the other side of the wall, Emu was confronted with the police girls.

"It's time for you to die." The leader said, and the girls drew their swords.

Emu drew his Gamer Driver equipped it. He then took out his Mighty Action X gashat.

"Resisting, are you? Well then, we will make your death ten times more painful!"

A familiar wind blew past Emu's face. He smiled. After the horrible sensation of the voices in his head, it was nice to feel a familiar sensation. Genius Gamer M had returned.

"Just try. I'm going to clear this game with no more continues!"

He activated the gashat.

 **MIGHTY ACTION X!**

The game screen appeared behind Emu, and wooden blocks flew out of it, landing in various places around the room. Emu swung the Gashat to his left.

"Henshin!"

He then slotted the Gashat into the driver and opened the lever.

 **GASHATTO!**

 **GACHAN! LEVEL UP!**

 **MIGHTY JUMP! MIGHTY KICK! MIGHTY MIGHTY ACTION X!**

A screen appeared from the front of the Driver depicting Emu's rider form while the character select ring circled around Emu's face. Emu selected his one and the screen moved backwards into Emu. When it passed through Emu, armour parts flew from Emu's body as the Ex-Aid Rider suit formed around him.

Emu had become Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Action Gamer Level 2.

Summoning his Gashacon Breaker in hammer mode, he prepared to fight. The police girls charged, and Emu did the same.

Emu was no slouch in terms of swordsmanship, but the girls moved extremely quickly. Their swords clashed against his again and again as Emu desperately tried to deflect their stabs and slashes. They were not like Bugster mooks at all.

 _Something's off._ Emu thought. He was not fighting at his best. The girls' movements were too fast for him; He couldn't keep up. He was already surrounded, and when he tried to break the circle, the girls, as if controlled by a single entity, blocked his exit and kept him trapped. His arms and legs responded slower to his thoughts.

 _What happened. Did Shinji do something or…?_

 _Too weak!_

And then he realised. He was holding back. The girls looked human. He wasn't accustomed to killing humans as a Rider. All he had experience dealing with were other Riders or Bugsters. Never a person.

 _Come on, come on, fight!_

But he couldn't. His instincts were holding him back, as if it were screaming "Don't hurt them!". He wasn't using enough force in his strikes, and he was mainly fighting defensively.

 _Dammit, why?_

One of the girls found an opening and struck Emu's back. He cried out in pain. Another girl took that opportunity and stabbed him in the front. Both simultaneously held him with their swords while the others slashed him again and again, reducing his health bar until finally, the armour gave way and Emu dehenshined.

Emu fell to his knees, weakened by the pain.

 _Too weak!_

"All together now!" the leader said, and they all stepped forwards and stabbed him in the chest. Blood poured out of his wounds. Emu spat out more blood.

"If you don't want to live in peace, then die! Die die die!"

 _Those words. Those were Shinji's. The last time I died._

Emu looked down. His hands and coat were covered in blood. Like in the nightmare. Only this time, it was real again.

 _You're too weak. Your humanity weakens you_

The voices in Emu's head intensified.

 _Humanity killed us. You're not strong enough. We need to be stronger. We shall become stronger._

The corpses reappeared.

 _We will not die again. We will not stop fighting. Not until our hatred is fulfilled._

He grabbed the swords stuck in him and, one by one, pulled them out. The pain didn't matter to them.

The police girls looked at Emu in shock.

He slowly got up. Inhumanly, like a puppet lifted by strings, electricity sparking around him. His eyes were closed.

"Thank you. You have made us understand."

The girls took a step backwards, a look of fear in their eyes.

"You are telling us to die, right? Well, we can't. Because we…"

He opened his eyes. They were glowing dark purple once again.

"…are already dead."

The blank Gashat in Emu's coat pocket shot out into Emu's hands. The electricity intensified around the gashat and surrounded it. The label flashed, and a new label appeared. It had a design of a person with a chainsaw and a mask on it surrounded by zombies. He activated the Gashat.

 **DANGEROUS ZOMBIE!**

The Dangerous Zombie screen appeared behind Emu. He closed the lever and slammed the new Gashat into the empty slot. Then, he opened it. A black aura began to emerge from the driver. The two screens of Mighty Action X and Dangerous Zombie shot out from the driver and backed into Emu. He jerked backwards as his body glitched, then the aura and electricity exploded from Emu, causing the girls to fly backwards.

 **DANGER! DANGER!**

 **DEATH THE CRISIS! DANGEROUS ZOMBIE!**

A gloved hand cut through the aura, dispersing it. Where Emu once stood now was a white and black demonic-looking armoured figure, his mask cracked on one side, and his eyes glowing menacingly.

Emu had now become Zombie Action Gamer Level X-2.

* * *

From afar, the twintailed girl recoiled from her binoculars. She couldn't believe her eyes.

"Deadface…"


	5. Chapter 4: Recovery

Chapter 4: Recovery

Shinji stood by his table with a bored look on his face. He did not expect extermination to go on this long. He had other stuff to do.

In front of him, the fight between the three Servants and Ghost continued.

Leonidas swung his lance down on Ghost. Ghost dodged. Fergus then came from the left of Leonidas attempting to strike while Ghost was focused on the lance swing. Saber anticipated this and, quickly taking control of Ghost's body, swerved to the right to dodge that attack. Coming up on Darius, Ghost, controlled by Saber's Damashii, jumped up and kicked Darius in the head, knocking him backwards while Ghost recoiled with yet another backflip. Darius, stunned for a moment, shook his head and roared.

The other two charged together. Dodging another of Fergus' attack, causing his drill sword to lodge in the ground, they stepped backwards a few steps.

 _Saber, we need to regroup and figure out how to manage this system of control. It is getting confusing._

"I know." Saber replied. "But for now, we need to get to Maestro, so I need you to follow my lead. Let me keep control for a little while until we get to him."

Shinji tapped his fingers on a hologram keyboard, inputting another attack command. The three enemy Servants glowed red.

"Here they come." Saber said, striking a defensive pose.

The three charged, and as they brought down their weapons to strike, Ghost leaped into the air. The strikes hit the back wall, causing the entire compound to shake. A huge cloud of dust erupted from the ground.

Shinji sneered.

Ghost landed and, looking behind his shoulder, peered into the cloud.

As the cloud cleared, it revealed the red firewalls, now fractured. Behind it stood Ex-Aid, in his Dangerous Zombie form, sparking with electricity and stained with blood. Around him, the mangled corpses of the police girls lay scattered, still twitching as if freshly slaughtered. Ex-Aid's armour evaporated around him, and he stood limp. Then he turned his head towards the cracked wall.

Shinji was taken aback in horror. Takeru and Saber were equally shocked.

"Sa… ber...

Ta… ke… ru…

Help… me…."

Then he fell to his knees and collapsed on the floor.

"Maestro!" Saber yelled.

"Emu!" Takeru yelled.

Ghost rushed through the cracked wall.

"Hu…Huh? Not bad." Shinji muttered.

As Ghost jumped over the limp body of Darius, it reanimated and roared to life.

"Get them!" Shinji yelled. However, his form was flickering, and so was the firewall. He looked around in confusion. Warning alerts were popping up everywhere.

Darius took one step, then froze.

Takeru, in his shock of seeing Emu, managed to take control of his body back from Saber. Saber obliged without complaint. He ran up to Emu and lifted up his lifeless body.

Around the complex, the firewall was disintegrating.

"What the hell's happening!?" Shinji cried.

"What's happening is obvious!" a girl's voice answered back. Shinji turned to the now broken window.

"Tohsaka!"

Riding a hoverbike was the pig-tailed girl from the lower floor, her headlights trained on Shinji.

"Saber!"

Takeru heard her and ran to the window, still carrying the body of Emu. He jumped out and landed on the hoverbike.

"You're not getting away!" Shinji yelled, as he fruitlessly tried to input more commands into the frozen keyboard.

The hoverbike zipped away into the night skyline of the city, leaving Shinji behind in the ruins of the compound.

* * *

 _Where… am I?_

Emu found himself in the white classroom again. Like before, it was bare. He looked around

 _Am… I here again?_

"Yes, you are." A voice replied, very much like his. Emu turned around. Standing in front of the blackboard was his own figure, smiling maliciously like before.

 _Why?_

"You're always asking questions," the other Emu noted. "Welcome to the Moon Cell. The land of unanswered questions. The land of unanswered prayers. The land of the unavenged victims."

As he spoke, the corpses reappeared, materialising from orange mist like Bugsters. Emu looked around rapidly.

"You have experienced the ruthlessness of this war, the bloodthirst of those who fight it. And like us, you will grow to hate it."

 _Hate. Anger. Resentment. Those were what they embodied._

"You have already tasted our hatred. How much it burns. How much the restless souls of those defeated call for vengeance. Our anger will fuel you. That power we control; Destroy everything with it. Otherwise…"

Hands clawed at Emu's legs, dragging him to the floor.

"You will end up like us."

 _No!_

Emu tried shaking the legs off, but they clung on tight, dragging him down further and further into the ground.

"Currently you are too weak. Your humanity constrains you. Become an emissary of revenge. Destroy this hellhole. Discard your compassion for the others. They do not deserve it. If you don't, you will never leave."

Emu tried to scream in fear, but hands muffled his mouth. He could only watch as they submersed him in the corpses. Then, everything went black.

* * *

Emu sat up on a bed, panting, sweat dripping down his body. He was in a dimly lit room with windows surrounding him exposing him to the outside world. He observed his surroundings, and then looked down at his body. It was covered in various black patches. Emu at first was scared that his body was deteriorating, but then he noticed that they were healing his body. He felt the wounds beneath them closing up as the pain diminished.

 _Code Casts?_

He looked around again, then saw the pig-tailed girl sitting on a sofa typing into a hologram keyboard like the one Shinji was using, except it was red instead of blue. She noticed him looking at her and smiled.

"I see you recovered, but not fully."

 _Did she put these on me?_

"Those weren't enough to heal you."

She got up and walked over to the bed.

 _This girl…_

He recalled her from the bottom floor, helping him take the poor Chess club president to the infirmary. He took a longer look at her entire body. She was wearing a red jumper with a cross on the front and a black skirt.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Rin. A Magus who has lost her Servant. The only remaining former Master, and this floor's Resistance."

She held out her hand. Emu shook it.

"Emu Hojo."

"I know."

Saber materialised on a chair next to the bed.

"And them, I am Saber."

"I know that too."

Takeru materialised on another chair.

"And I am Tenkuji Takeru."

This Rin did not expect.

"Huh? Where did you come from?"

"I am a friend of Emu's. It is difficult to explain, but you can only see me now because I can make myself visible. I am supposed to be a ghost, but in this world, I am not sure what I am now. I can utilise the power of Heroic Spirits like Servants and fight, so that could be why I am here."

Rin took a while to take this in.

"So that strange form of Saber that I saw fighting Shinji's Servants, was that you?"

"Yes."

Rin gave a small smile.

"So you can do that too…"

Emu meanwhile was confused by Takeru's newfound visibility.

"Takeru, you can make her see you now?"

"Something happened. I was trying to make myself visible in the lower floor, but it kept failing. But now-"

"You are probably registered on the system as a Servant-like Entity." Rin cut in. "That was why you are now able to make yourself visible, like how Servants can materialise their spirit form. You started registering on my scanners as such the first time you and Saber merged in Shinji's Mayor Compounds. Beforehand you were invisible."

Then Saber also cut in, putting the conversation back on topic.

"Maestro, the reason you are alive is not only because of the Code Casts on your body, but also my affection towards you."

She smiled.

"You two are really close, aren't you?" Rin commented. "It's been a while since I've seen such a Master-Servant bond. And you two," gesturing at Takeru and Saber together, "fight together well. You held off three Berserker servants at once."

Saber sighed.

"We are comrades in arms with the desire of obtaining the Holy Grail. If we are not well-bonded, then what will happen?"

Emu and Takeru smiled together. Truly they were a strong team.

"You have a point." Rin said as she opened a canister and took out a pink vial. "I've also experienced it before." She tossed the vial to Saber.

"Drink it."

"Umu?" Saber looked at the bottle curiously.

"As for you, here." She tossed a flask of large white crystals at Emu on the bed. Emu grabbed it and looked at it closely. "Mana supply for Masters." Rin explained. "You're probably out of Mana from that stunt you pulled there."

 _So, am I supposed to eat these?_

Putting that thought aside, he turned to another thing that Rin had mentioned.

"So, about the Resistance…"

"Right. Shinji's the city's mayor, and I'm a rebel." She took a swig from another vial, then put it down on the table. "You guys aren't backing out from the Holy Grail War, right?"

"Of course not." Takeru said. "We're trying to get out of here."

"Agreed." Saber added.

"Then you guys are my allies." Rin said, smiling. "After all, the enemy of your enemy is your friend, right?"

"That's rather cynical…" Takeru murmured.

Rin ignored him.

"It looks like that we have formed an alliance." Saber said.

"Right. But first, I have to explain some things to prevent you two from getting arrested again for not knowing anything."

"This is the floor of cowards. Masters who fear the Holy Grail War would stop at this floor. They refuse to fight because they're scared. In other words, they're afraid of death."

 _Afraid of death…_

"That makes sense." Takeru nodded in reply. "Fear of death is rather common. In fact, it is a human instinct."

He should know. He died multiple times beforehand, so he knew what it was like to fear death.

Emu knew too how scary death could be. Especially since he gave it to someone else…

 _Parado… I'm sorry…_

"However, surviving while being passive is questionable. If that is the case, then isn't it better that we just lose?" Saber got up and put her hands on her hips. "Why do these things happen right now? What is the Moon Cell doing?"

" SE RA PH is no more." Rin replied in a low tone.

The other two turned towards Rin. "What?" they said in unison.

Rin sighed. She tapped a few commands in the air. Over the bed, the hologram of SE RA PH's seven Strata appeared, with error messages layered on top of each other simultaneously popping up as the levels loaded.

"Ever since the appearance of a big circle in the sky, Chakravartin, the rules of the Holy Grail War no longer applied."

A large golden wheel appeared over the layers, and small figures on said layers vanished.

"As a result, people die here and there."

She paused for a second, then continued.

"Each floor is independent from each other, and the battle royale between Masters are put on hold. This first floor is the most peaceful floor." The first floor enlarged as the others vanished. "There's already a Master who won the first round, but for some reason, he refused to ascend." She picked out a particular figure and placed him on the hologram. "Because Chakravatin overwrote the rules of SE RA PH, the only surviving Master in this floor is automatically assigned as the Floor Master." A small crown popped over the figure's head.

"Floor Master?" Saber asked, eyeing the figure curiously.

Emu couldn't help wondering if she was envious of the crown.

 _Come on, she's not that petty._

"Then, he used the remaining resources himself and singlehandedly rebuilt this floor. The pleasing atmosphere you saw in the city is the result."

A hologram model of the city rose from the disk that was the first floor.

"Other Masters came here after that, whether they came from the upper floors or the one who recently arrived. Then, without them realising, Servant marketplace became a thing. Therefore, Masters who just came here hit a dead end."

She snapped her fingers, and a row of figures fell like dominoes. Takeru did not like the implication of the metaphor. Neither did Emu.

"The one responsible for breaking SE RA PH was the large circle in the sky, but the one responsible for stopping the Holy Grail War is this floor's Floor Master."

 _Floor Master…_

 _Shinji?_

Takeru looked over at Emu and saw his hands clench.

"Therefore, to take care of this anomaly, I have been working hard. But lately the condition of the Angelica Cage has been strange…"

Rin trailed off, as she walked out onto a balcony and pointed up at the sky. Emu, Takeru and Saber walked outside and looked up. In the night sky, the golden circle, elaborate in its design like a Mandala, hovered, rotating slowly.

 _That circle…_

"Chakravartin. I think that thing is trying to destroy SE RA PH on its own."

 _I saw that circle before…_

"The bottom floor has been destroyed, right?" Takeru said. "Is it working its way up the ladder?"

"I would seem so. However, to ensure what's going on, we have to get to the next floor."

"No masters are willing to ascend to the next floor, is that right?" Saber asked.

"To be more accurate, they can't"

"Hmm?" Saber tilted her head sideways.

"But then, how are we going to get to the next floor?" Takeru asked.

"Well, according to the rules of the Holy Grail War, in order to ascend, there has to be a fight between Masters." Rin replied."

"Umu. If I may recall, that is the only condition when the Moon Mile Ladder can lower itself to Maestro."

"It works only one way. You can fall from above, but to ascend requires a ladder."

"If that is the case, then we need to find a Master." Emu muttered.

"There is one. You may know him very well." Rin said. Then, she paused.

"Matou Shinji, the floor Master who wants to kill you. He's still a full-fledged Master."

Takeru looked concerned.

"Do we have to kill him? Can't we convince him-"

"No." Emu muttered

Takeru and Rin turned towards him

"Emu..."

"I need to kill him."

Takeru's face turned to shock.

"But Emu, What about your doctor's oath?"

Emu grimaced. Takeru was right. It was against his oath. He'd already broken it before with the guards. He didn't want to break it again. But...

"I need to. Because of what he did to me."

The voices of vengeance in his head had been whispering in his ears ever since he woke up. He could no longer ignore them.

"He killed me..."

And as he said the last words, Emu felt his vision fading, and he collapsed of the floor.

"Emu!" Takeru ran to catch him before his head hit the floor.

* * *

"I sense doubt in your words"

He heard his own voice speaking in the darkness.

"Let me remind you again why you are fighting."

The scene changed. He was standing in that psychedelic corridor in the lower floor, confronted by Shinji. And like last time, Shinji was holding his knife.

"Come on, Emu, die for me!"

And before Emu could react, Shinji charged forwards and stabbed Emu repeatedly, again and again. Blood gushing out in the same pattern, the same shape and colour on the ground. And once again, Emu fell in pain and hit the ground

"Your 'friend' betrayed you. He left you for dead. We were the same."

Lying on the ground, Emu raised his head with immense effort.

The scene kept changing. Another corpse crucified upon a rock by swords. A boy on his knees, his head on the floor, knifes protruding from his back. A girl lying on a patterned marble floor, her chest ripped open, her entrails everywhere. Another girl, wrapped in chains, decapitated, her blood seeping out into a bucket below.

"This is us. This is who we were. This is who we are. However, we let you live. We gave you the chance to fight back. For you to accomplish your goal and ours."

And Emu felt his body rising, energy charging through his body, pure hatred coursing through his mind. The Zombie Gamer armour formed around him, black aura cloaking his body.

 _We are you. You are us. We fight for us. You will fight for us._

* * *

Emu woke up once again, half naked on the bed. However, sunlight was streaming through the windows, illuminating the room in a soft white glow. Emu, slightly calmed by the more peaceful atmosphere, got up and walked up the stairs to the roof.

As he stepped out onto the roof, he shielded his eyes from the bright sunlight. The skyline, so vibrant at night, seemed more relaxed and not as hectic.

To the left, he saw Tenkuji Takeru training with a stick. He was swinging it down on an imaginary enemy, then stepping forward, as if he was preparing to deflect a strike and countering with another. His face was diligent in his practice.

Facing the city skyline on the railings sat Saber, reclining as naturally as one would on a chair. Birds were perched on the floor and the railing, as if observing the red-dressed woman with interest in their eyes. A white pigeon flew down and landed on her outstretched arms. She smiled at it kindly, like a king to her subjects.

Then, having noticed Emu at the doorway, she turned to face him.

"I see you have woken up, Maestro."

Emu stepped forward, and the birds flapped their wings in flight, deserting the golden-haired swords maiden in droves. Takeru stopped his training and turned to look at Saber.

"I'm sorry" Emu said, bowing his head.

Saber smiled again. "What are you apologising for? We are to fight the Floor Master. Is it unusual for birds to run away from that tyrant?"

"But I thought it was Emu's approach that drove them away." Takeru noted.

"Umu. But they were already on nerve. It is only natural for them to fly."

"She's right. Besides, it's the only way to ascend."

Rin had materialised at the doorway, tapping in the air.

"We won't intrude, rather, we enter from the front door."

Takeru was concerned. "A direct attack. Isn't that-"

"That's good" Emu cut in.

Saber steeled her gaze.

"Are you ready, you two?"

"I'm ready" Takeru responded.

Emu looked around. Even though it was built on the corpses of Masters and Servants, it was still beautiful.

"It's a nice city, isn't it?"

But still. What else could he do. If he stayed here...

"I can't care about any of this. I have a job to do."

Emu gripped his hand, his Command Seals bulging under his skin.

"I... will continue the Holy Grail War."


	6. Chapter 5: Assault

Chapter 5: Assault

The lobby of the Central Glass elevator exploded in a burst of fire. From the building, a squadron police girls emerged, rushing over to deal with the inferno.

"Ignition-type virus detected!" The leader of the squadron said to the other girls. "Deploying vaccine program!"

"Roger!"

All the girls faced the fire, and started typing on the virtual keyboards in the air. The fire pixelated, then died down into orange mist.

Behind the rubble from the explosion, the group, consisting of Rin, Saber, Takeru and Emu, waited for the right time to move. The deployment of the vaccine gave them time.

"Let's go! Hurry!" Rin shouted to the three.

"I shall advance first!" Saber said. The group took off towards the elevator.

As they approached, the elevator activated, and the doors opened, awaiting a passenger.

However, out of the side doors strode out the three Berserkers which fought Takeru and Saber the previous night. Rin's face turned to horror.

"Crap, they found us out!"

A hologram of Shinji appeared.

"Commensing the disposal. This is an order from the Floor Master. Kill them all."

The Berserkers charged.

Saber whisked up Emu off his feet and held him in her arms. "Takeru, Maestro, we're going to jump!"

Takeru nodded his head, and the two jumped high off the floor, just in time to avoid a rectangular green cube of cyberwalls from trapping the three Berserkers.

Rin ran forward and started typing into the Elevator's controls. The other three jumped into the Elevator.

"Go up! Get to the top floor non-stop!"

More cyberwalls emerged in layers around them, protecting them from the outside.

The cyberwall box trapping the Berserkers cracked, then borke as Darius smashed his way out of the top.

Saber turned to Rin. "I am gracious. If you have a chance, make an escape!"

The door closed on them, and the elevator started to rise.

The three Berserkers threw themselves at the cyberwalls protecting Rin. She finished typing into the console and looked up.

"Yeah. If there is any."

The Berserkers had penetrated the first wall, and were making short work of the second and third layers.

"Even at the cost of my life, I won't let them be killed! Because…"

She revealed a red and blue Ganma eyecon hidden in the palm of her hand.

"I can still use him some more!"

She activated the Eyecon, and it flared red.

 **CU CHULAINN**

* * *

The elevator reached the top floor and stopped suddenly. The doors swung open. The sight that greeted the trio was not something they expected.

It was a school.

Not the weird, futuristic school of the ground floor. A normal Japanese high school. The only thing was it was completely devoid of life.

"This is… a schoolhouse?" Saber asked in confusion.

 _No kidding._

"Yes it is." Emu responded.

Takeru gulped. This did not look good.

"It's a bit different from the one on the ground floor…" Takeru noted.

"Yes. I think he would be waiting on the roof". Emu said.

"Maestro, how would you know that?" Saber asked Emu.

"I don't know. But I know Shinji. That would be a place where he would stage his final glorious battle."

In truth, he didn't really know Shinji that well. But from what Emu had inferred from the little he talked to him, he was definitely somewhat prideful.

As they ascended to the roof and pushed the metal door open, they stepped out onto a school roof. It was deserted, like downstairs. They walked forward a little, unnerved by the emptiness.

Up above, the sky was raining little white humanoid figures that evaporated on impact with the ground, like falling snow on a December day.

"Are they… Masters who lost?" Saber asked, nervously.

Takeru looked at the multitude of souls falling from the sky. So this is what Rin meant by falling down to lower levels. His upturned eyes moved back to the door they came from, and that was when he noticed someone.

"Look! Over there!"

Sitting on top of a water tank on the top of the structure where door they went through was sat Shinji, reclining on his back hand and looking up on the sky. He noticed the trio and tilted his head.

"Huh? I see that you have come this far."

Saber strode towards him. This time, Emu was not holding her back.

"Matou Shinji! We are to restart the Holy Grail War! Governor of this false city, accept this challenge of mine!"

Shinji's face didn't move.

"False city, huh? Your words put me to tears."

 _And yet not a single tear leaves your eyes, huh?_

"I hate seeing people like you. You know nothing, yet, you still judge."

Emu again gripped his hands. It was as if Shinji was mocking them, uncaring of their challenge. Every fibre of his body was permeated by hatred for Shinji. However, he was not one to lash out.

"I've worked hard to build this city. I created this eden for those trash. I did it voluntarily. What else was I supposed to do at the time?"

"You could have ascended." Takeru responded. "You could have continued the war. Why stop here and take the weapons of the other masters?"

"The Holy Grail War, now, of all times?" His face turned exasperated.

"Hey. Is it some kind of joke?"

 _So he is mocking us._

Emu's expression hardened. A flicker of purple flashed in his eyes. Takeru saw this and shruddered.

"I came here just to kill you. You won't refuse a newcomer, will you, Wakame-hair?"

"Huh?" Shinji sneered.

"You're the Game Champion, aren't you?"

Shinji's face turned to anger. He remained motionless for a while. Emu could see in his eyes that he was reliving earlier memories. Was it when he started building the city? Then, Shinji's eyes turned to Emu, a malicious smile creeping along his face.

"Yeah. Try to kill me!"

He jumped down.

"You have the right to do so! That's because…"

He raised his hands to the sky.

"I am the champion!"

Suddenly the floor beneath them rumbled. Around the perimeters of the city, huge marble wall started emerging from the floor, rising in clouds of dust. Then, when they reached their fulles height, their sluice gates opened, and water started pouring out of them, drowning the town in its torrential flow. The screens which showed people rejoicing sank into the water, and the buildings crumbled under the stress of the water.

On the bottom floor of the elevator, Rin had returned to her human form in a flash of red light. She looked around, unperturbed by the sounds of the water.

"There's no going back to this floor anymore. Prolonging the age of this floor any longer is humanity's last justice. But, if someone who has the will to fight and survive appears in from of someone who has forgotten something that they should have, this moratorium will soon be over. Isn't that so, Shinji?"

And the water washed over her, dissolving her into the blue liquid below.

* * *

Out of the water, in a golden bubble, emerged a gigantic red galleon.

"Now, this is a battle I've been waiting for!" a familiar female voice cried out. "Let's do it with all our might, Shinji!"

The water cleared from the bubble, revealing the galleon's sails and deck, and on the helm of the ship stood the red-haired woman from the bar earlier, now dressed in a Captain's red coat.

"Set sail at full power!" Shinji commanded.

The ship sailed forward towards the schoolhouse roof.

Emu and Takeru equipped their drivers. "Well, I guess that's time for us to fight" Saber said.

Emu reached into his pocket, but as he touched the Dangerous Zombie gashat, he hesitated.

 _No. Not now._

Instead, he took out his Mighty Action X gashat alone.

"Saber, would you like to fight with me again?" Takeru asked.

"No. I believe that for a large vessel like hers, we should split up. We each attack a different part of the ship. She cannot handle all of us at once."

Takeru nodded in understanding, took out his Ghost Eyecon, and activated it, placing it inside his driver.

 **EYE!**

 **BATCHIRIMINA! BATCHIRIMINA!**

Emu activated his Gashat with his right hand.

 **MIGHTY ACTION X!**

The game screen manifested itself behind him, and blocks flew out of the screen, landing in various places around the vicinity.

He swung the gashat to the left, then slammed it into the Gamer Driver.

 **GASHATTO!**

Both the Riders yelled out their transformation phrase in unison.

"Henshin!"

Takeru pulled the lever of the driver in and out, while Emu opened the Gamer Driver's lever.

 **KAIGAN! ORE!**

 **GACHAN! LEVEL UP!**

 **LET'S GO! KAKUGO! GO GO GO GHOSTO!**

 **MIGHTY JUMP! MIGHTY KICK! MIGHTY MIGHTY ACTION X!**

The Ore Damashii, a black parka-like ghost with orange highlights, emerged from the Ghost Driver, while a pink game screen enlarged itself from the Gamer Driver while the different Rider faces spun round Emu. Emu picked his one with a flick of his hand and it moved backwards into him so that it collided with him at the same time the game screen backed it him as well. Pieces of armour flew off him as his pink-and-neon-green armour appeared. He summoned his Gashacon Breaker in sword mode and prepared himself.

Meanwhile, Ghost's Transient form materialised from orange dust and formed itself around Takeru's body, its blank face awaiting the Damashii's Persona. The Ore Damashii landed onto Takeru, equipping itself to Takeru like a coat. The Ore Persona, simply orange with two black ovals for eyes, flipped up onto Takeru's face.

Emu and Takeru had transformed into Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Action Gamer Level 2 and Kamen Rider Ghost Ore Damashii.

The three observed the approaching Galleon.

"That ship reminds me of the warship Argo from Greek Mythology. Such an amazing vessel." Nero said. Then she smiled.

"That means you must be a Rider-class Servant!"

Emu remembered what Saber told him about the classes in the Holy Grail War. The Rider Class was the class of Heroes known for riding mounts, living beasts or human constructs during their lives. It should be obvious what her class is.

The red-haired woman laughed. "Do you want my introduction first?"

"That's a strange attitude of yours." Saber responded, materialising her sword.

Takeru spoke up. "You could have attacked us in the bar last night. Why didn't you?"

"The only person who decides is Master." The woman responded, gesturing to Shinji.

"No, you must have already known that." Saber cut in.

"Something that can be obtained after conducting a fair battle and betting everything in line…"

Saber struck a pose, ready to jump forward. Emu and Takeru saw this and prepared themselves as well.

"That is the joy of battle!"

And with that, Saber charged.

Sticking to the plan, Ex-Aid and Ghost split up, jumping along different buildings to reach different parts of the boat. Ex-Aid used the blocks set up by the Game Screen to platform his way towards the galleon on the left towards the bow, while Ghost, thanks to the stat boost given by him being a Servant-like entity, ran along the walls of the buildings toward the stern. Saber meanwhile charged straight towards the boat, leaping from building to building to get to the ship's wheel.

Rider cocked her flintlock pistols, and cannon barrels materialised over her. The cannons on the ship also activated.

"If you get hit, you'll get blown to pieces!" she cried.

She aimed her guns at Saber and fired. The left-side cannons automatically aimed themselves at her and fired energy beams at her. Saber dodged them nimbly. Keeping one firing at Saber, she aimed the other one as Ex-Aid and fired again. Ex-Aid saw it coming and leaped out of the platform he was standing on before it was blown to pieces. Out of the pieces came an Energy item coin. Ex-Aid picked it up.

 **SPEED UP!**

He felt a surge of energy in his legs. He crouched down and jumped forwards towards the ship, streaking at intense speed.

"Naïve!" Rider said with a smirk. She aimed her guns and fired. The cannon beams hit him straight in the chest and he fell backwards onto another block on a building. It broke, revealing another Energy Item coin, which flew into Ex-Aid

 **RECOVERY!**

The pain from the impact disappeared. Catching his breath, Ex-Aid got up.

 _Talk about protagonist armour_ he thought.

Rider was annoyed by Ex-Aid surviving the hit by luck. She readied another shot. Suddenly, the ship shook. She whipped around.

"Where did that come from?" she shouted.

It was Ghost. She had completely forgotten about him in the stern, and he was assaulting the ship from the back, trying to cause damage to the ship to sink it. Shinji also caught on to that and, thinking quickly, turned to Rider.

"Deploy your Noble Phantasm!" he commanded.

" _It's time, you scallywags!"_ Rider announced.

 _"King of the storms, the flock of ghosts,_

 _Let the Wild Hunt begin! (The Night of the Golden Hind and the Storm)"_

The area darkened, and the ship glowed purple. Out of similar purple-white portals emerged many smaller, ghostly ships.

Saber, in the middle of another charge towards the ship, heard her NP chant and was caught off guard.

 _Wild Hunt…?_

 _So that means…_

That moment of hesitation was enough for Rider to target Saber with the ships' cannon fire. Beams of purple and yellow shot out from the cannons in all direction, scoring a direct hit on Saber. She fell down into the water below.

"Saber!" Ghost yelled, and jumped into the water to catch her.

* * *

Saber, still recoiling from the shock of the impact, looked down. On the sea bed was a shipwreck, possibly also conjured up by Rider's Noble Phantasm. She swam down to it and landed feet first on the ground. She walked up to the shipwreck.

 _I guess we need to fight fire with fire._

She touched the shipwreck's mast and closed her eyes.

 _Imperial Privilege._

A golden glow spread from her fingertips over the ship. The entire boat glowed gold for a second. However, it started to recede. Saber opened her eyes.

 _No! The mana requirement is too high!_

Saber's body weakened, and she felt her limbs go limp.

Then, as she looked up, she saw Ghost swimming down towards her.

 _Takeru…_

Ghost hurriedly made the triangle sign with his hands, then drew the eye symbol. Saber once again felt the pull of the symbol as she returned to her Eyecon form.

Ghost caught the Eyecon, and quickly opened his driver, taking out his own Ore Eyecon and replacing it with Saber's. He closed it, and changed Damashiis.

 **KAIGAN! SABER!**

 **WIELDER OF THE HEROES' BLADE! LET HER TAKE THE STAGE!**

Ghost had now once again become Saber Damashii.

Inside Ghost's mind, Saber regained consciousness.

"Are you OK, Saber?" Takeru asked.

"Umu. I am fine, thanks to you.

I believe I know who we are fighting."

"Who?" Takeru had been wondering about that every since they started. The Noble Phantasm chant gave him a bit of a hint, but her name was on the tip of his tongue.

 _What was it? The Wild Hunt…_

Then it suddenly clicked. The Galleon. The Wild Hunt. They matched a single name he remembered from his book on Heroes back in Daitenkuji Temple.

 _No! It can't be…_

"Indeed it can. There have been many times in history where famous figures have been recorded as male. It is entirely possible."

So it seems she does know.

"Anyway, what were you trying to do?"

"One of my skills is Imperial Privilege, which means that I can take the skill of an enemy I face as long as they are standing. However, the mana I require to transform this ship is too high for me right now."

"I see." Takeru said. Then, he had a flash of inspiration.

"Saber, let me try it."

"Umu. I shall lend you a hand."

Ghost turned to the ship again. He closed his eyes and touched the mast. In the Damashii, Saber activated Imperial Privilege one again. Ghost envisioned in his mind a ship he once had. He didn't use it much, but here, he will have to let it take centre stage again.

The ship glowed gold and shrunk in size, until the process was completed with a blinding flash of light.

* * *

Above the surface of the water, Ex-Aid continued fruitlessly to make progress on the ships. The ships' cannons instantly annihilated any new platforms that were constructed by the game. He could barely dodge the insanely dense onslaught of beams, and it required all of his energy and concentration.

His gashat holder grew heavy. _Come on. You have no choice. Use our power. Or fall like the others._

 _Shut up. I can do this myself._

"Not fighting for a long time sure took a toll on my aim" Rider said as she continued to fire on Emu.

"Well, I do like doing big attacks."

"Stop the firing, Rider. I want to talk to Emu." Shinji commanded. Rider obeyed, slightly disappointed. Emu, exhausted, fell to his knees.

"So, Emu, how is this? You thought you could defeat me?" Shinji shouted at Emu. "Your servant lies full fathom five under the surface of that water! The sea is my own Servant's domain! How can you hope to defeat me here?"

Emu grimaced. The anger raged inside him even more. _This taunting is driving me mad._ Beneath the mask, his eyes flickered again. He reached out his hand towards his gashat holder.

Suddenly, Saber's voice rang out from below.

"The water may be your domain, but your domain will be mine!"

And out of the water burst a black and green ship, with claws on its side, and frayed sails handing on its mast. It was about the size of the smallest ship in Rider's fleet, but its appearance was more menacing than even the most menacing of her ships.

Captain Ghost had appeared, and on it rode Ghost Saber Damashii.

Rider merely looked at the ship in curiosity, but Shinji turned livid. It was less the appearance of the ship, but the reappearance of the Damashii that beat him which made him mad.

The ship flew towards Ex-Aid. "Jump on!" Takeru shouted, holding out his hand.

Emu got up and took Ghost's hand, and jumped on board the ship. It flew upward to the level of Rider's ship, so that Rider and Ghost were face to face.

"The battle recommences!" Saber shouted, looking at Rider straight in the eye.

"Rider! We know your true name!" Saber and Takeru spoke simultaneously.

"You are the captain who united the world!" Saber shouted.

"The one who defeated the Invincible Armada!" Takeru announced.

"The woman who brought down the sun!"

"The commander who was called the Devil!"

"You are…"

Then Ghost pointed a finger at Rider.

"Francis Drake!" they shouted in unison.

They stood in place for a second, holding their pose. Then Saber broke Ghost's pose and turned to Ex-Aid.

"How was that! Was that showy enough!" The eagerness in her voice very apparent.

Ex-Aid responded with a nod.

Rider, Francis Drake, laughed.

"Good, good! My battle spirit rises! Then, once more!"

She spun round and posed, her backs to the trio and holding her guns out. Ghost reacted quickly, steering the boat to pick up speed.

 _"Remember my name! Temeroso El Draque! The woman who brought down the sun!"_

Once again, the ships reappeared from the portals, firing their gold and purple beams at Captain Ghost. It quickly and nimbly dodged all the beams fired at it, heading straight for Rider's flagship.

Shinji was even more angry. "Fire! Fire! Fire!" he yelled at Rider. Rider obeyed, a smile still on her face. The shots came in even more densely.

"Maestro, we cannot dodge this for much longer. We must end this quickly." Saber said to Ex-Aid. "I suggest we go in for the final strike."

Emu nodded. He understood what she meant. It was time to end this.

Ghost took the wheel of the ship and drove it forwards into the barrage. The cannon shots focused themselves on the ship, assaulting its front intensely. Ghost kept the wheel pushed forward, bracing himself against the impacts. Captain Ghost maintained its forward momentum as it inched slowly towards Rider's ship, but it was taking a lot of damage in its front.

Rider aimed her guns at the ship, smirking. One more shot should do it.

"It's over!" she shouted.

Saber was waiting for this moment.

"Now!" Saber told Takeru. He pulled back on the wheel and the ship pulled upwards. Now released from the force of the beams, it shot forwards rapidly towards Rider's ship. As they approached it, Ghost and Ex-Aid jumped off the ship high into the air. The ship crashed into the front of the galleon, throwing Rider off balance.

Ghost pulled and pushed the lever on his driver once more, while Ex-Aid took out his gashat and slammed it into his Gashacon Breaker.

 **DAI KAIGAN!**

 **KIMEWAZA!**

As they reached the height of their ascend, Ex-Aid hit the trigger on the Gashacon Breaker, and Ghost materialised Saber's sword.

 **SABER OMEGA DRIVE!**

 **MIGHTY CRITICAL FINISH!**

Saber's sword glowed red with power, lighting itself on fire, while Ex-Aid's sword started to spark with cartoon pink and green lightning. They leant forwards and charged towards Rider.

Rider, having regained her balance, raised her guns and pulled the trigger.

Both of them clicked.

Her eyes widened in surprise. Then, her mouth turned upwards to a final smile.

"How unfortunate for me… Oh well, things like these happen pretty often."

The two Kamen Riders struck their targets, and Rider flew backwards onto the deck of her ship. She hit the floor and lay there, motionless. The smaller ships vanished, leaving only the galleon.

Ex-Aid and Ghost landed on the ship's deck and pointed their weapons at Rider.

Rider opened her eyes and breathed in. Then, she rolled over the Shinji, who had walked up to her body.

"There goes our contract… If you don't break it, you'll also vanish."

"No."

Rider tilted her head quizzically.

"That's because you haven't lost yet. If the Servant hasn't been defeated, what kind of master cuts their contract?!"

 _That's rich coming from you._

"Haven't been defeated, huh?" Rider relaxed, her legs going limp.

"That was just bad luck!" Shinji cried, but the sounds of defeat had already creeped into his words. "It's also because you didn't fight often!" Then he stopped.

"And also because of… my idiocy."

"A Champion is what you call the winner, no?" Saber said within the Damashii. The two dehenshined, Saber regaining her physical form, and watched the Master and Servant pair in front of them.

Shinji remained looking at Rider.

"I am me." He stood there motionless. "I can't do anything." He looked up.

"Ever since god knows when my head gone strange, I've seen everything that has been going on in this city, including how worthless humans are. I refuse to accept that. But…"

He reached his hands towards the golden ring in the sky.

"The power to prove it, the answer I've been looking for… it's all been for naught."

He let his hands go limp.

"That is why I'm staying here. Because if everything disappears, humans will be deemed as meaningless beings. That's why, at least…"

He hung his head.

"…for those useless cowards, as long as I live on, my hopes for something that will happen-"

"You aren't wrong" Takeru cut in. Shinji turned to him.

"Humans may be cowardly. They may push others into the ground to go higher. They may build things which eventually collapse. But, even if they destroy everything they create, even if it was all for naught, it is the effort that counts. And…"

He stepped forwards and put his hand on his heart.

"Humanity has infinite potential. They will always rise above the ground like lotuses in mud. Besides, what you did was not for nothing. You tried to keep peace in the lower floors. You tried to build a respite for those tired of fighting. You tried to preserve life in the face of death. That in itself is commendable. And your defeat is not in vain. We will stop this fighting. We promise."

Then Emu stepped forward. This was what he was waiting for. The moment that Shinji lay defeated at his feel. That was what they wanted.

And yet…

"Shinji. I cannot forgive you for what you did to me on the lower floors. However…"

He paused for a second, trying to think of the right way to put how he felt. Then he spoke.

"… I won't hate you more than this."

Shinji put his hands over his eyes. "What the hell was that?" he asked. It wasn't malicious. It was more confused. "Why do you still have faith... even with this war…"

"Shinji" Rider spoke up. "It seems you haven't hurt your friend after all." She was slowly dissolving into orange mist as they spoke. Shinji was as well.

Shinji gave a small smile.

"He's not my friend…"

And with that, he vanished into the wind.

Ghost walked up to Rider.

"Just hold on for a minute, Rider."

Rider also smiled.

"Make it quick, if you have to."

He made the triangle sign and drew the Eye symbol over Rider. Her body glowed red, counteracting the orange of the mist she was dissolving into, and she was sucked into the eye, emerging as a Damashii. It was her coat, except a hoodie was attached to the top where her head was. Two lights like eyes glowed in the darkness of the hood. The Damashii made the pose Rider made when she was activing her Noble Phantasm earlier, then it flew into the Ghost Driver. Takeru put his hand under the eye of the driver and out came a Red eyecon. It was darker than Saber's red, similar to her coat, and the scelera was black. On the plate on the top of the Eyecon was written ES-02 and Rider, and the picture on the top was the front of a Galleon, again shaped to appear like a face, with the sails as eyes.

Takeru held up the Eyecon and looked at it. Suddenly, the Eyecon glowed. It hovered, and then all of a sudden absorbed Takeru through its iris. Emu and Saber rushed forwards, but it was too late. Takeru had entered the Eyecon.

* * *

Takeru opened his eyes. He was not concerned at all, as he has done this before with Eyecons. He felt the gentle rocking of the floor beneath him and took a few seconds to get accustomed to its rhythm. Them, he looked around.

The inside of an Eyecon represents the mindscape of the person whose soul is housed inside it. In this case, it was in a wooden office, which appeared to be for a naval officer. The room had a desk, on which were maps and navigational charts. Behind the desk was a wooden chair, humble in its design. There were shelves on the walls, on which were chests overflowing with gold and a small wooden model of the galleon.

Takeru walked up to the desk and looked at the maps. They were of the world, with a path marked out in black which went around it.

"I see you have found my maps."

Takeru turned around. Leaning on the door was Rider, only she was wearing a pirate's hat in addition to her jacket. He backed away from the table quickly.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't-"

"It's fine. I made that journey already. That map is not as important as it once was. I still keep it around, just to remind myself of the adventures I used to have."

She tossed her hat onto a hook on the side of the wall.

"Come with me."

She walked outside. Takeru followed her.

Outside, he could see the sea stretched out endlessly in all directions. The sea was quiet, save for the sound of the waves hitting the bottom of the boat. He turned around and saw Drake leaning on the wheel of the boat, waiting for him to come up and join her. He obliged.

"When I went on my expeditions, this was all I see for months on end." She sighed. "I grew accustomed to the sea. So much so that I eventually saw this as my true home. My home in England was comfortable, for sure, but It was here that I felt most at ease." The steering wheel started to turn. She grabbed it and held it steady.

"Do you remember how I died in real life?" Rider asked.

Takeru thought for a second.

"You died of dysentery, and you asked to be dressed in full armour and dropped into the sea…"

"Well done. Am I really that famous even in this age? Ah well…" She looked out into the sea wistfully.

"I chose to die like that because I felt like it was the place which I loved the most. I loved the open sea, and the adventure. It seemed like the most appropriate place to end my voyage through life.

She turned back to the wheel.

"All I ever wanted was to chase after gold to scatter it into the wind like a storm. Nothing more than the fleeting pleasures of riches that do not last, the finite luxuries of life. Therefore, when I was forced by my Master to lay down my gun and rest, I accepted, but I quickly grew uncomfortable. Enduring treasures like the city he made are not for me. This was not who I was. Therefore, when he commanded me to set sail again after so long, I couldn't have felt happier. However, I betrayed my own nature for too long. As a result, my gun became rusty."

Takeru understood.

"So that was why your gun jammed…"

Rider took her hands off the wheel and turned towards Takeru.

"I like you and your friend. You haven't given up, haven't you? You are true to your nature. It just so happens that your nature is to fight for justice and your friends, while mine is to continuously search for treasure. Your friend proved himself at that tavern. He stuck to his ideals and wouldn't give up his Servant, even for eternal happiness, and for that I praise him. You, too. You refused to believe that humans would be meaningless without Shinji's city, and you sought to defeat Shinji, even with this "paradise" at stake."

She then paused for a second.

"However, I can sense your friend has made some difficult decisions. I saw what happened in Shinji's compound. Your friend had to kill, even though he does not want to. Even though they were NPCs, he struggled to kill. He had to kill Shinji to ascend. Just like Shinji had to kill another. I wonder how long your friend can go on like that…"

She then relaxed, and leaned again against the wheel.

"Anyways, you should get going. You got six more floors to ascend. Don't keep your friends waiting."

Takeru turned to go.

"Oh, and by the way."

Takeru turned to her again.

"When you meet him again, be sure to tell him that he shouldn't lose himself as he ascends, otherwise he'd end up like Shinji. That'll convince him." She said, giving a mischievous smile

Takeru nodded.

* * *

He emerged from the Eyecon as quickly as he entered it. Emu and Saber recoiled as he came out.

"Takeru-san, are you alright?" Emu asked.

Takeru looked round. He was inside the familiar Entrance room of the elevator, and it was ascending.

"Umm…"

"Where did you go?" Saber demanded. "Answer me!"

"I… went into the Eyecon to talk to Rider. She wanted me to tell you something."

"Well, what is it?" Emu asked. Saber also leaned in to listen.

"She said… umm… don't lose yourself as you ascend, otherwise you'll end up like Shinji."

That caused Emu to pause.

 _Don't lose yourself…? Does that mean… she was aware of… that?_

From the little he experienced of using the dark power within him, he could already see the effects it was causing.

 _A power that leads me to kill… without discrimination?_

The words of hatred that filled his mind were definitely not his own. But already they were integrating themselves deep into him thoughts. If he lost sight of who he was…

"I'll become as useless as Shinji…"

 _No. Worse._

 _Shinji never actively killed anyone. Even when he did, it was to survive. He was just water._

 _But if I do lose myself, I would become poison._

 _It doesn't matter! He still killed you! Is that not reason enough for veangance?_

"Emu-sensei." Takeru cut into Emu's thoughts. Emu raised his head.

Takeru was looking out of the window. Emu looked down as well. The first floor was shrinking below, the last few ruins which stood above the water getting smaller and smaller.

"That is what the real first floor looks like." Saber said, also looking out of the window.

"So that city of joy was just an illusion…" Emu muttered.

Still, what needed to be done was done.

* * *

As the ladder elevator ascended, a hoverbike chased after them, flying in from the outside of the city walls.

"Wait for me!" Rin cried as the bike followed the elevator's path upwards.


	7. Omake 5: Gun jams and Genderbends

Chapter 5.5: Gun jams and Genderbends

"And so, the three looked down below at the ruins of the first floor while the Elevator ascended into the heavens."

Emu was sitting on a couch in the elevator reading from a pink script with his name on the cover.

"Ok, then."

He got up and paced around a little bit, still reading from the script. He then looked up.

"So, why pick now to start these extra omakes?"

Because I only thought of the idea now! I would have done it earlier, but it is not as if I can do one for every chapter beforehand!

"Right, right, right."

He looked down again.

"Didn't that Rider fight seem a little easy to you? I thought we would have had a rougher time."

"Well, she did say that she hadn't fought for a long time, so maybe her aim was rusty" Takeru responded, also on the couch with a Yellow script in his hand. "But it was awfully convenient for her to shoot you into another Energy Item which was for recovery. Also for her gun to jam just as we went to deal the finishing blow. Isn't her gun supposed to have infinite ammo? Isn't her luck EX?"

Emu agreed. "The closest thing to getting the Energy Item by chance which happened in my series was when Nico Saiba threw a Recovery item to Taiga when he got hit, but even that isn't as coincidental as what happened here."

Hey, listen. Be happy you survived. Do you want me to retcon that? Do you know how difficult it is to write this?

"You're just copying the dialogue that's unchanged from the original anime." Takeru said. "It can't be that hard. Besides, isn't that lazy?"

"No, it isn't" Out of the baths walked Saber, thankfully fully clothed this time, holding a red script. "What Writer-san up there has to do is to push you into this world, but apparently there was some criticism of the original that the fights weren't good enough, so he had to make some edits. Indeed, in the original, I had the spotlight, taking her on myself."

Emu and Takeru were slightly confused. "Wait, the original?"

"Of course. What do you expect?" Saber said, as she grabbed a remote and turned on the TV in the room. The screen blared to life replaying the original Fate Extra Last Encore episode where she fought Drake.

"One thing he did change was that, originally, Maestro would have had to swim down and kiss me to transfer Mana by physical contact."

 _Physical… contact?_

Emu was slightly relieved that things went as they did in his version of the story.

"Anyways, I thought she already told you why her gun jammed in this chapter. It was because she betrayed her own nature, wasn't it?"

"That is correct"

The Drake Eyecon had leaped out of Takeru's jacket and materialised into the figure of Rider. Saber drew her sword.

"Rider! How have you materialised? Weren't you defeated?"

"For this little extra episode (no pun intended), I was given special privilege to come out and talk." Drake responded.

She then turned to Takeru.

"Takeru-san, do you remember what I said to you?"

Takeru thought for a moment.

"That your gun jammed because it became rusty?"

"Yes. However, that isn't the only reason."

She then turned to address an imaginary audience where the camera would have been if this was an actual TV show.

"The original fight gave little reason as to why my guns ran out of ammo. Therefore, there was sort of an uproar over the plot armour the MC of Fate Extra Last Encore had, with the convenience that my guns jammed at the last second. Therefore, in supplementary material, it was stated that, because helping in the city went against my ideals, my luck stat dropped rapidly. The writer here tried to integrate this into the story to make it more clear, but he couldn't do much to take it out of the equation. In fact, he tried to spin it in a way to give a lesson to you two", gesturing at both Emu and Takeru.

They both nodded. "Ah, I see. That makes much more sense." Takeru said.

With that out of the picture, Takeru moved on to something that had been bothering him ever since he discovered Rider's identity.

"Rider-san, are you truly Francis Drake?"

Rider turned to Takeru. "Yes, the one and only. Why?"

"Isn't he supposed to be male in history? There are even portraits of him, so how is it that you can be female here?"

Rider smirked.

"I figured you'd be confused. Here. Let me explain."

She spun round and shot at the TV. It exploded in a puff of smoke, and out of the smoke, a small projector screen popped up. She set her gun to face the screen, and the screen lit up.

Emu and Takeru turned to each other. This was getting weird.

"This franchise is built on the stories of legends and heroes." She clicked the trigger of her other gun, and the projector moved one slide, showing some of the Servants that they had encountered.

"There are obviously male Servants for the female fans or history buffs out there, like Fergus Mac Roich, Darius and Leonidas." She said, pointing at each one as she said their names. Takeru recognised some of them.

"However, in order to attract a larger crowd of male otakus, some… adjustments had to be made." She clicked her gun, and the slide moved to a female figure with a face resembling that of Saber. Saber's eyes glowed.

"This is King Artoria Pendragon, the first genderbend of the Fate franchise. Originally, she was going to be male, but she was changed to female in the last second."

She pulled the trigger again, and more female figures appeared on screen, including Rider.

"There are a number of other genderbends, some more egregious than others."

She pointed to a girl in a red coat and hat holding a musket.

"Can you guess who she is?"

Takeru shook his head. Then he recognised the gold insignia on her hat and recoiled in shock.

"Don't tell me… that's Oda Nobunaga!?"

"Correct!" She pulled out another party popper and popped it. Confetti rained down around the confused Takeru.

"This one here" she pointed at a young girl in a black coat. "is Jack the Ripper. This one" She pointed to a scantily dressed Japanese girl holding a katana "is Ushiwakamaru."

Takeru couldn't believe what he was hearing. What had they done to the heroes (well, historical figures. I doubt Jack the Ripper could be considered a hero, but still a person from history) he learn about?

Rider once again clicked her gun. "Oh, I think you'll like this one." The slide moved to a tall woman with white hair wearing a red and blue kimono holding two swords. "This one…" she said with an even wider smirk on her face. Then she threw her arms wide open. "… is MIYAMOTO MUSASHI!"

Takeru fell back in absolute horror. Musashi was an extremely important person to him. His father had given him Musashi's tsuba before he died, and he was the first Eyecon that he summoned in his quest to revive himself. What has this franchise done to him!

Rider laughed heartily. "Oh don't worry. She is an alternate universe version of him. He is still a man in your timeline. She was dimension-hopping until she arrived in the timeline of another game: Fate Grand Order.

Takeru heaved a sigh of relief. Still, it offended him for a second there. The others though…

"And even if they're gender bent, they have a lot of thought put into their genderbending. For example, the reason why I am female" she said, twirling around on the spot "is because there was originally a plan to make me Queen Elizabeth in disguise."

Takeru got up. "Huh?"

"There was apparently a legend about how Queen Elizabeth and Francis Drake swapped places because she got smallpox or something. This scar is a reminiscence of that idea." Rider said, pointing to his scar. "However, because I was received quite well in the original game Fate/Extra, they kept me as a genderbent version of him. I'm sure the real version would be shocked, but I don't really care."

Takeru took time to absorb everything that was coming his way. Emu patted Takeru on the back.

"With King Arthur, or rather, Artoria, as well, they created an entire story around her having to hide her gender to be king, and used it as an analysis on how history records past tales and how these stories can be twisted to suit the norms of the time. It's quite clever actually."

Yeah. It took me some time getting used to, but I eventually accepted it.

"Besides, you're one to talk. Your show simplified the Heroes so that they would look better to the kids! If anything, you did a greater disservice to them than this genderbending does."

Takeru got up.

"I can't be blamed for what the show became! I'm not the writer!"

"You ripped us off! We had the idea of gathering Heroic Spirits to obtain a wish long before you did! Go watch Prisma Illya and take notes!"

"Alright, alright, alright, break it up." Emu said, finally speaking after a long period of silence. Rider cracked a smile.

"It's fine. I was joking. It's not your fault, I understand why you'd be concerned. I can tell you care for these heroes very much. You're the right person to get through the war and collecting the Heroes' Eyecons."

Takeru sat down again, letting out a large sigh.

"I'm going to have to get use to these kind of changes, right?"

Rider nodded.

Takeru fell backwards onto the couch, exasperated.

"And with that, I think my time's up. Thanks for having me over, Writer-san!"

No problem, Drake.

Rider returned to her Eyecon state and fell to the floor. Emu went over and picked it up. He then turned to Saber.

"Saber, are you a genderbend?"

Saber raised her head.

"I can't tell you that. But, no matter if I was male or female here, I am still beautiful, don't you agree."

 _There she goes again._ Emu thought.

"Yes. You are." He responded. Saber smiled.


	8. Interlude 2: Padoru Panic

Interlude 2: Padoru Panic

The elevator continued to ascend, cutting through the blue sea, leaving bubbles in its wake.

Inside, the view was a bit less mysterious. Takeru was again training with a stick, swishing it down on an imaginary enemy like he was doing on the roof of the place they were staying on the first stratum.

Emu meanwhile was playing on a video console he found in the cupboard and hooked up to the TV. Oddly enough, it was a Genm Corp console, with Mighty Action X installed. How one would be in this mysterious game Emu didn't know.

 _I guess it could be considered product placement?_ Emu had thought.

Takeru put down his stick, panting, and turned to Emu sitting on the floor.

"Really? You're playing video games?"

Emu paused the game and turned around.

"My powers come from video games. This counts as my training, doesn't it?"

Takeru sighed and laid back on the couch too tired to argue.

As Emu turned back to his video game, he noticed an electronic calendar on the wall. It was rather simple for the technologically advanced nature of the world, showing month and date. Right now, it said that the date was the 23rd of December.

"Takeru-san, did you know that it's nearly Christmas?"

Takeru got up excitedly.

"Really?"

Emu pointed at the electronic calendar. Takeru smiled.

"Finally, a rest from all this fighting."

Then he had a thought.

"Emu-sensei, what should we do this Christmas?"

Emu didn't know. Did they even still celebrate Christmas in this futuristic world?

"I don't know. A Christmas Tree or something?"

"But where would we get one?"

And at that moment, Saber's voice rang out from further inside the elevator:

"Praetor, come and look at this!"

Both Emu and Takeru got up and went to where she was.

* * *

Saber was looking through a doorway at a pitch-black room which none of them could see the other side of.

"Praetor, this room is very intriguing! I want you to come with me inside!"

Emu and Takeru looked at each other.

"Umm… Saber? Are you sure this is a good idea?" Takeru asked.

"Umu! How can one call oneself a hero if one is afraid to enter a simple dark room!" Saber responded smugly, striding into the room with confidence. Emu and Takeru had no choice but to follow her.

As they stepped into the room and walked towards the centre, the door behind them slammed shut rapidy, plunging the three into total darkness. The three turned around rapidly at where the door had been. Emu facepalmed.

"…Saber, you got us in a trap."

Emu couldn't see Saber's face, but he could still feel her smug aura. Was she really fine with this?

"Umu. It seems we have. But no matter. Let us sharpen our blades on the enemies we face!"

And as soon as she finished her sentence, the room suddenly blazed to life, blinding the three momentarily. Suddenly, Emu felt the room getting colder and his feet touching something soft. He opened his eyes.

They were now in a field with trees all around them, snow pouring down from a dark twilight sky, blanketing the entire area. Some of the trees had Christmas decorations on them as well. All in all, the scene looked like something out of a Christmas card.

 _So, this is how we're going to celebrate Christmas, huh?_

Reindeer men and snow golems began to materialise out of the snowstorm, walking towards the trio. The reindeer men were holding Candy Canes, and as silly as they looked, their eyes burned with a hunger for blood. The snow golems looked so depressed, but they walked forwards at the same pace as the Reindeer Men.

Saber materialised her sword. "And there are the enemies I expect! Come on, Maestro! Let's take these foes down!"

Emu took out his driver, and Takeru materialised his. They respectively took out their transformation devices and activated them.

Emu pressed the button on his Mighty Action X gashat.

 **MIGHTY ACTION X!**

The game screen materialised, and the same brown blocks as before flew out of it.

Takeru inserted his Eyecon into his driver and closed it.

 **EYE!**

 **BATCHIRIMINA! BATCHIRIMINA!**

Both of them posed, but their poses were a little stiff due to the cold.

"Henshin!" They shouted.

Emu slammed his Gashat into the Gamer Driver and opened it, while Takeru slammed the side lever of the Ghost Driver in. Their armours materialised, and Takeru's Parka Ghost equipped itself to him like a coat once again.

Kamen Rider Ex-Aid and Kamen Rider Ghost have entered the fray.

Emu materialised his Gashacon Breaker and looked at the different brown blocks in the area. Suddenly, he saw the one he needed. With a run and a jump, he smashed that brown block, and out of it flew out an Energy Item showing a figure with a Santa Claus hat. It flew into Ex-Aid's chest, making him glow.

 **CHRISTMAS!**

Ex-Aid turned into a Chibi version of himself with a Santa hat and a beard holding a sack. He looked down at himself and remembered the one time that he used this form back in the real world. It was also Christmas. However, that day was also the day when Kiriya died…

 _Nope, not now. I need some rest from all that heavy emotional stuff. Let's enjoy this for now._

He rushed back to Saber and Ghost, who were dealing with the wave of Reindeers and Golems quite well, slashing through them like they were made of butter.

"Hey, Saber! Takeru!"

The two turned to Emu. He opened his sack and took out more Christmas Energy Items.

"I think we need to get into the Christmas mood! Catch!"

He threw them at Saber and Ghost, and they also flew into their chests, changing their appearances.

Saber also gained a Santa Claus hat, and her dress became felt with a white fur trim, like a Santa Claus outfit, and she was also carrying a sack.

Takeru's coat, meanwhile, had turned into something similar to a Santa Claus outfit as well, red with a white fur trim, and his hoodie had gained a white bobble as well. The mask now has a Christmas tree on it as well.

It looks like it really was Christmas for the three.

Saber looked down at her outfit and smiled broadly. "Umu! Truly this outfit suits me greatly! I shall wear it with pride! Indeed, although Christmas is a Christian celebration, it used to be Saturnalia, a decisively Roman one!"

She turned to Emu and Takeru. "You two, let us go forth and defeat our foes!"

The two nodded their heads and charged into the fray.

Ex-Aid, although his legs were stubbier in this form than in his normal form, was no less agile, jumping around the enemy Reindeer men and Snow Golem like an excited child on Christmas Day. Indeed, he definitely was in a festive mood, smacking them with his sack and occasionally tossing debuff Energy Items into their ranks, slowing them down and generally causing mayhem. Ghost, meanwhile, was using Santa Damashii's bells to smack down the Reindeer and Golems, all the while summoning hail to rain down on them. Finally, Saber was also using her sack to smack the enemy, all the while humming to herself.

In no time flat they dealt with the first wave of enemies, but already a second wave was generating off in the distance and rushing toward. Emu and Takeru readied themselves, but Saber stepped forwards.

"Fear not, Maestro, for I have a new ability thanks to this special Mystic Code you gave me! Let me demonstrate it to you!"

She turned to the incoming enemies.

"One-Use Noble Phantasm activate!"

The snowfall began to intensify and swirl around Saber, blinding everyone in the vicinity, including the incoming monsters.

"See the glory of the great festival of Saturnalia! Hear the singing of the pure white rose of Christmas! In the name of the snow and the rose, arise! Aestus Domus Niveus!"

The snowstorm cleared, and what appeared in its place was a great outdoor amphitheatre made completely out of snow and ice. The amphitheatre was so large it enclosed all of the enemies that had been summoned inside it. The Reindeer men stopped and looked around, confused as to what was going on. The Snow golems still looked miserably ahead.

Saber dropped her sack and inhaled. Emu and Takeru quickly took cover, anticipating what was coming. Then, Saber sang at the top of her lungs.

 **HASHIRE SORI YO!**

 **KAZE NO YOUNI!**

 **TSUKIMIHARA WO!**

 **PADORU PADORUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!**

And with the last Padoru, the enemies flew backwards, as if blown back by some immense force, hitting the walls of the amphitheatre and dissolving into dust.

Saber finished her singing and turned to Ex-Aid and Ghost, an eager smile on her face. "Well, Maestro. How did I do! As you can see, my singing was so good it blew them away!"

Emu and Takeru got up from the ground and uncovered their ears.

"Well, it did bring the house down…" Takeru said. "But I don't think we'll be wanting any encores."

Emu agreed.

With that, the amphitheatre collapsed, leaving a cloud of snow.

"So is that it?" Emu asked.

Then a voice from within the cloud of snow rung out.

"You are not finished. Not until you get past me first."

The cloud cleared, and a figure stood in the centre of what used to be the ampitheatre.

The figure was also wearing a Santa outfit and holding a sack, except the Santa outfit was black with a white trim. Her face was very similar to Saber's, but her skin was a pale white, and her expression was as cold as the ice around her.

"Good evening. I am Santa Alter, a Rider Servant. The final challenge for your little Christmas Quest. I am the true Santa, the one who brings happiness to children around the world! All you three are Fakes, therefore I must destroy you! Only I can be the true Santa and the one who bring joy to everyone! So this is a cease and desist from Santa himself"

Emu stepped forwards.

"Is the Christmas Spirit not everyone's to share? We may be imitating you in appearance, but the spirit we have this Christmas is real! We will not allow you to monopolise Christmas."

Takeru also stepped forwards.

"Yes! It is everyone's job to enjoy Christmas! We are not fakes at all! We are as real as you are when it comes to this season!"

Finally, Saber stepped forward.

"Umu! This Christmas, we shall celebrate together by destroying this Scrooge of a Santa, this Ebenezer of a geezer, this killjoy who wishes to stop us celebrating this season! You're not even real! You're not a fat man with a beard and a large belly like Santa should be!"

Emu and Takeru stopped and looked at Saber weirdly. She realised the hypocrisy of what she was saying and blushed.

"…anyways, we will defeat you! No questions! Let us go, Maestro!"

The three rushed forwards at Santa Alter.

Santa Alter sighed. "Well, this is the role I have this year." She muttered.

"Well, I've got to make the most of it."

Out of her sack she pulled out a black sword with red markings and with a single swipe cut the three's assault short. The trio were thrown backwards by a black aura emitted by the sword.

"You three are weak." Santa Alter said, pointing her sword out at the three. "You do not deserve to live through this Holy Grail War, or this Christmas either. Goodbye."

She then swing it back and began charging for an attack, black aura amassing around her sword and expanding outwards.

Emu and Takeru got up.

"Well, I guess the best defense is a good offense, right?" Emu asked Takeru.

Takeru nodded. So did Saber.

"Let's go, then. I'm getting tired of this lazy writing."

He pulled out his Gashat and slammed it into his Gashacon Breaker.

 **GASHATTO! KIMEWAZA!**

Takeru pulled out his Gan Gan Saber and brought the eye symbol on it close to the Ghost Driver.

 **DAI KAIGAN!**

Saber held up her sword, imbuing it with fire.

Santa Alter had finished charging her sword up. By now, the aura was almost 7 foot long and ready to mow down anyone in its path.

"Here's a present from Santa! Drown in Christmas Darkness! Excalibur…. Morgan!"

She swung her sword forward, and a torrent of the dark aura barrelled towards the trio. All the while, Santa Alter was humming Jingle Bells, oddly enough.

"Then, we will retaliate with the same!"

 **MIGHTY CRITICAL FINISH!**

 **OMEGA BREAK!**

"Triple Christmas Gamer Ghost Buster!" Emu shouted.

The three slashed the air in front of them, leaving three red slashes in the air. They moved forwards while spinning, combining into a giant spiral of red and green that momentarily took the shape of a Christmas Tree. It hit the dark aura and held it in place momentarily, then it pierced through the aura, drilling until it reached Santa Alter, where it hit her square in the chest and smashed through her, a PERFECT popping up at the place where it entered.

Saber fell to her knees, electricity sparking around her.

"No… I can't die… For the sake of the Children… I can't fall…"

She fell forwards and exploded, raining down candy canes and confetti from the sky as the GAME CLEAR sound played. The room then faded into black, and the door that they came through opened in front of them.

Takeru and Nero turned to Emu.

"Triple Christmas Gamer Ghost Buster? That's a terrible name for an attack!" Takeru said.

Saber agreed. "Indeed, it is hastily put together."

"Well then you should have thought of something better!" Emu retorted.

"Anyways, why did you call out the name of that attack. We don't normally do that, don't we?" Takeru asked.

Emu scratched his head. "Well…"

"If all else fails, we can blame the writer." Saber affirmed.

The two nodded in agreement.

* * *

Walking out of the door, the trio reverted back to their normal outfits. The Riders de-henshined and flung themselves onto the sofa.

"Man… that was a weird adventure." Takeru sighed.

"Agreed. Rather badly written, too. Generic villain, terrible motivation, weak mooks…" Emu trailed off, too tired to think.

"But at least we enjoyed ourselves, right?"

"Umu. Beating down those enemies was a welcome rest from dealing with all that stuff about death and morals. Especially with me being able to release that once in a lifetime Noble Phantasm! Maestro, would you like me to replicate that here-"

"No!" Emu and Takeru responded in unison. They didn't want to suffer the same fate as the enemies in the simulation as well.

* * *

Hi, everyone. It's the writer here.

To celebrate Christmas, I decided to quickly cobble together this Chapter for Christmas Eve. It's not up to the usual standard, so I do apologise.

This is the last of the funny interlude stuff I will be making for now. The normal story progression will return in the next Chapter.


	9. Chapter 6: Ambush

Chapter 6: Ambush

"Ascending the Angelica Cage from the bottom is quite the ride."

Saber was taking a bath in the giant bathroom inside the elevator. She cupped some rose-scented water in her hands and rubbed her arms softly.

"Well, that's true." Rin responded, also naked in the bath. "The sky of SE RA PH is like an ocean."

She had intruded into their vicinity sometime after the Christmas incident, looking for a place to stay. Apparently her hoverbike ran out of fuel. Although Emu was sceptical of her intentions, Takeru was more than happy to let her stay to repay her for helping them out on the lower floor.

"Speaking of which, Maestro, do you not wish to join us in the bath?"

Emu was sitting outside on a couch. As a matter of fact he did not want to go into the bath with them. Partially because there were two naked women inside the bath already (which was terrifying), and partially because he had a lot of thinking to do.

Takeru had explained in detail what happened with Drake inside the Eyecon, and thus the words that Drake delivered to Emu gained more context.

 _You shouldn't lose yourself as you ascend. Otherwise, you will end up like Shinji._

He already knew that, the way he was going, he was not going to end up like Shinji. No.

He would have actually preferred to end up like Shinji. After all, even though he was a coward, there was reason behind his actions. Whereas him…

 _I've been thinking about nothing but hate and revenge. I have killed without remorse. Slaughtered without a single thought behind it. Massacred without reason._

He looked at his hands.

 _In the end, nothing has changed. Even revenge on the one who killed me… That wasn't enough._

How deep was this hatred of his? What would satiate it? He knew instinctively what he wanted. No. What they wanted.

 _Can I call myself human anymore?_

"What are you worrying about?"

Saber's voice resonated from the door of the bath. Emu turned and saw that she had nothing but a single ribbon on covering her more private parts. This was enough to snap Emu out of his introspection. He quickly averted his eyes.

"There she goes again…" he muttered.

She ignored him.

"Self-desire, ego, lust… Indeed, humans fight for those three things. Those reasons alone are of no relevance for my judgement towards them. Because of how good it feels, they insist of granting them. However," she turned to Emu. "Because you are unsure of your desire and how to satiate it…"

She spun round and lifted her hand in the air.

"We shall satisfy it by climbing this ocean!" she proclaimed.

Emu nodded in agreement. "That's sounds right. You can start by putting some clothes on."

"Very well, then." Saber lowered her hand and went off to change.

Takeru came out from another room.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"Nothing." Emu responded. He was grateful that Takeru wasn't there to see her naked.

* * *

The elevator landed in an abandoned building, this time something that would not be out of place in the British countryside. From far away, Dan Blackmore sat with his rifle in his hand. He raised his head.

"Finally, someone arrives on this floor."

He stood up, gun in hand.

"Now, let us start the Holy Grail War. We'll defeat the enemy so I can ascend to the third Stratum."

A shadowy figure emerged from the shadows.

"Another battle again? Even if there's only a few participants and SE RA PH is torn apart, not to mention the unknown whereabouts of the Holy Grail?"

"Of course, Archer." Dan replied, opening the breech of his rifle.

"I care little about the Holy Grail."

He aimed the rifle at Archer, testing the scope. Satisfied, he reached towards a table of bullets and picked one up.

"I descend to the moon only to fight and win."

He loaded the bullets one by one into the chamber of the rifle.

"Because of that, I left my hometown to fight marvellous enemies, to experience marvellous battles, and to achieve marvellous glory. For those are my desires."

He closed the bolt of the rifle.

"For those desires alone, I kept living until now."

Archer, now fully emerged, had a bothered look on his face.

"Now," Blackmore continued. "I welcome you, young Wizard. This time, be the formidable foe, able to satisfy my heart."

* * *

The trio of Emu, Saber and Takeru emerged from the broken doors of the building. They were on a terrace of an abandoned mansion overlooking a dense forest that stretched out in all directions.

"It seems that we have arrived." Saber noted. "Apparently, this is not the SE RA PH I know. The rules of the Holy Grial War is void, and the glory of battle is no more. Nonetheless, our purpose has not changed."

Emu understood.

"We need to seek the Master, and then…" Emu started. A lump formed in his throat as he finished the sentence.

"…take him down."

Saber nodded his head.

Takeru peered down to the forest below them.

"Nothing but trees, huh?" he said.

"Umu. This place already looks like ruins, does it not?" Saber responded.

* * *

Blackmore peered through the scope of his rifle. He noticed that there were two humans in addition to the Servant. Were they both Masters?

He gripped the rifle tighter.

 _I shall take them both down together._

Then, he pulled the trigger. The bells of the Clock Tower chimed.

* * *

Before Emu realised it, Saber reacted very quickly. She shoved Emu aside and used her sword to deflect a bullet that was heading straight for his head. The bullet landed on the ground.

"A sniper? Maestro, watch your head!"

Emu looked around to find the source of the bullet.

 _Saber had to lift her sword to block the bullet, so it must be coming from a high location. That means…_

He saw the Clock Tower and realised.

 _From there!_

Takeru materialised his sword as well and, thanks to his heightened reflexes, managed to block a bullet heading for his head as well. It ricochet and hit the terrace walls.

"We're done for if we stay here!" Emu shouted. "We need to jump! Split up!"

Saber nodded, and so did Takeru. Saber took Emu's hand and leaped off the Terrace.

Just as Takeru was about to jump as well, a bullet hit him in the right leg. Blood spurted out of the open wound. He yelped out in pain and mistimed his jump, falling downwards into the canopy of the trees.

"Takeru!" Emu cried just as he entered the dense cover of foliage.

* * *

The bullet shells landed on the floor.

"As expected for them to jump." Blackmore said. "From the terrace to the forest. That's right, because there's no other way. Well, I took one out of commission, so that's fine."

He turned to Archer

"That means it's your turn, Archer. Don't be nervous. Go all out."

"Roger that." Archer responded, putting the hood over his head. As soon as he finished, he vanished. He walked out of the tower, his footsteps leaving clouds of dust as he walked.

* * *

Emu and Saber were wandering the woods searching for Takeru. They couldn't see where he had landed, and Emu was worried that Takeru may be vulnerable to attack.

"There's no mistake, the shooter was aiming at you. He is our enemy." Saber said.

"For a surpise attack, the shooter surprisingly intended to take your life with one shot."

"Yes." Emu agreed. He had a feeling that the sniper wanted to end things quickly. As he did. "I saw where the bullet came from." He turned to the Clock Tower, visible through the foliage.

"It had to come from there."

"Umu. He's in that Tower. That aside, Maestro,"

Saber then turned around.

"You were able to guess the location of the shooter in such short a time?"

Emu nodded his head. It looks like all that time playing shooting games did help after all.

"Umu, umu! I'm proud of you, Maestro! Such a talent is deserved for someone who wishes to achieve their desires!"

Emu paused. Is it really? He hoped that his talent wouldn't be used for killing again.

"Thank you." Emu responded.

"Hm? No need to keep thanking me. In fact, including just now, you always show your gratitude so easily."

Emu was confused. Isn't that what you're supposed to do when praised?

"Right. I apologise."

The two kept walking.

"Saber."

Saber turned around again to him.

"Ever since the bottom floor, I haven't said something I wanted to say."

Saber smiled.

"I know this isn't the right time, but it is something that has to be said."

Emu then took a breath.

"Thank you. Because of you, I'm still alive."

"Umu!" Saber responded gratefully. "Keep praising me! I feel delightful to see you smile."

 _Hmm?_ Emu wondered.

They started walking once again.

"You always look so miserable. I am delightful to be able to hear your gratitude sincerely. We can't keep thinking about battles and killings."

She raised her hands again.

"No matter how high your position, no matter how quiet this place, show no arrogance. By not forgetting the beauty of flowers, by not forgetting the beauty of melodies, by not forgetting gratitude, then, by not forgetting the blooming pride in your heart."

She took a breath.

"No matter how strong you are, no matter what you obtain, no matter how long you have been here,"

She stopped and spun around, immersed in her speech.

"By not forgetting your heart that loves flowers, by not forgetting the prosperousness of melodies, by not forgetting the feeling of gratitude you build for your own,"

 _How long is this going to go on? Your friend is injured. Shouldn't you be a bit more hasteful-_

 _Shut up. Let her speak._

"Moreover," Saber stroked Emu's face. "by not forgetting the feeling of self-reminder to never lose to anyone,"

She paused, then turned to Emu once again.

"I wish for those feelings to stay. I wish to live like that. No,"

She stopped again.

"I am grateful for being able to have been living like that." She finished with a smile.

Emu didn't know what to say.

Suddenly, Saber's smile vanished. She turned with a disgruntled look on her face.

"Saber?" Emu inquired.

"My, how rude!"

She materialised her sword.

"How rude of you for ruining my beautiful moment with Maestro!"

A voice responded from above.

"Pardon the intrusion."

The forest darkened and began to fill with a purple smoke, engulfing both Saber and Emu.

"However, because we're both Servants, it's more preferable if we kill each other than to have a conversation, is it not?"

Emu looked around rapidly, trying to find the source of the voice. However, he could not see anyone.

Saber sensed multiple arrows flying in her direction. She lifted her sword and deflected them.

"Try not to inhale the smoke, Maestro!" Saber warned. "It's poison!"

Emu had picked up on this a while ago, as he felt the gas burn his lungs. He was covering his mouth desperately trying to hold in his breath. Then, he felt the voices in his head speak again, controlling his movements. It lifted his hands and opened up a virtual console.

 _Code Cast – Poison Immunity_

Emu could not understand why they would be helping him like this. Then he realised. They wanted him to continue, to complete their revenge. Though he was wary of their assistance, Emu understood that he was in no position to complain.

The pain in his lungs eased, and he breathed normally.

"Despite how motivated the Servant is to fight, the Master doesn't seem to be ready."

What?

How could he know?

Emu backed up slowly, hitting a tree.

"I get it. Now I do. Why? Because we have something in common."

A snake fell from the tree, dead. Its flesh dissolved before Emu's eyes, leaving only its skeleton, which also dissolved in the mist. Emu saw the danger of the poison, and was grateful that he could cast Poison Immunity.

"You're kind of a pessimist, aren't you? Your face proves it. If you can't do it, you'll only accept your fate."

 _No. I'm not a pessimist. At least, I'm not supposed to be._

"You're wrong." Emu muttered. Then he looked down and saw the grass on the ground dissolve as well.

"You don't care about the Holy Grail, do you?" The voice asked mockingly. "Or, perhaps, you don't want it?

Emu paused.

"You know that if your desire is granted, you will never forgive yourself. You are too kind to prey on those around you. You don't have the ego to do so as well."

"Shut up, you wanker!" Saber shouted, planting her sword on the barren ground.

"Real warriors fight not with their mouth, but with their swords face to face!"

The voice ignored her.

"You're actually scared. You want to run away, abandoning all hope. You don't care with the end result. Won't you feel relieved more quickly that way?"

Then, Emu caught on to where the voice came from. He turned his head. Saber also anticipated a new hail of arrows and blocked them with her sword, bolting from her spot and rolling to avoid the arrows.

"A camouflage Noble Phantasm…"

"Correct" The voice said. "However, my body isn't the only thing you can't see."

 _The arrows._

Saber was able to block them because of her heightened reflexes. However, as he is, he would not be able to dodge them.

 _I need to transform._

He ran.

He heard the arrows hitting the ground beneath him as he ran. He took out his driver. Suddenly, his leg caught on something and brought Emu down, causing him to drop his driver. He looked at his legs. Red sigils were encasing his foot, keeping him in place.

 _A bear trap!_

"Maestro!" Saber ran towards where Emu had fallen. He heard more arrows being fired. Saber turned around to block the arrows with her sword, but she felt one embed into her chest. She recoiled from the impact and staggered back.

The voice whooped. "I'm laughing how perfectly according to plan things have been!"

"It is too troublesome to have this arrow in my line of sight." Saber said. She pulled out the arrow out of her chest. Blood spurted from the entry point, and Saber flinched.

"This arrow gives me no pain." She declared. "Considering how much of a coward its owner is!"

"Is that so?"

Suddenly, she felt weak in her legs. She fell to her knees, clutching the sword for support.

"Aha. I was wondering how much longer it would take for it to act."

"Damn it, the arrow's poisoned? How much more cowardly can you get?"

The voice laughed.

"Enough to win this fight! Now, I shall turn you into a hedgehog!"

And with that, he levelled his crossbow and fired at Saber. She tried to raise her sword to block, but she was too weak to even lift her arms.

Emu closed his eyes.

 _Forgive me, Takeru. Looks like I can't get to you in time._

Suddenly Ghost, transformed into a form with a red and black Damashii and a hood shaped pirate's hat, rushed in and blocked the arrows with his Gan Gan Saber, deflecting them just in time.

"Takeru-dono!" Saber exclaimed. Emu couldn't believe his eyes.

Ghost split the sword into two guns and fired upwards at the trees. The leaves and branches fell down like rain on Ghost and Saber, and a cloud of dust erupted from the ground.

When the dust settled, Ghost held his stance for a moment. There was silence. Emu wondered if Ghost managed to kill the enemy Servant. Then, he fell on his left knee and detransformed. His right leg was still bleeding from the bullet, blood oozing from the wound.

"Too slow. You missed." The voice said. "We're in the endgame now."

He fired again.

"Saber!" Emu yelled. He knew she was too weak to do anything now. What could he do?

Then, he heard them again.

 _Not here. Not here. Give her strength._

As if by instinct, he raised his hand. The Command seal on his arm flared, and a third of it vanished.

Saber's sword flared with fire. She got up onto her two feet, and, with a yell, swung the sword in a circle. The sword exploded, and a pillar of fire erupted from the ground, incinerating all the trees in the vicinity.

When the fire settled, Saber was standing in the middle of charred stumps 20 metres in diameter, panting. Emu was unaffected, and so was Takeru. But would it be enough?

"Oy, checkmate."

They looked up. Another hail of arrows were coming towards them from a distance. Saber tried to lift her sword again, but she let it slip from her grasp.

 _It's over._ Emu thought.

Suddenly, the arrows exploded in the sky, creating fireballs. Archer, now visible, flew backwards from the explosion.

"What the hell?"

He backflipped and landed on the ground.

Saber mustered a final bit of effort and, picking up her sword, leapt at Archer and struck downwards. He jumped backwards and landed on a tree.

Now that he was visible, the three could take a good look at him. He had orange hair and a green cloak, and his appearance was very medieval and green. On his arm was a crossbow.

Takeru couldn't believe his eyes.

"That outfit… it can't be…"

Archer jumped away, retreating for the time being. Saber breathed a sigh of relief. So did Emu.

"Excuse me,"

This time, it was a girl's voice.

Emu turned around.

Standing on the root of an unburnt tree was an Indian girl with purple hair wearing a hat. She was also wearing a white shirt and a dark purple blazer with gold decals. Around her neck was a green sash with a purple gem.

"It looks like you three require assistance." She said.


	10. Chapter 7: Retreat

Chapter 7: Retreat

At the foot of a particularly large and dense tree, a house was integrated into its trunk. The roof was covered in green moss, and the stone walls were green as well. Around the house crosses were embedded into the ground, and small torches lit the area.

Inside the house, the purple haired girl who had saved the three was tending to Saber and Takeru's wounds. She had wrapped Takeru's leg in bandages and laid him on a bed, having applied Code Casts to the wound to help it heal. Currently, she was dealing with Saber, who was sat on another bed.

"There are multiple barriers installed around here. We won't be discovered easily" the girl said.

She picked up a glass vial on a table and went over to Saber.

"I will now be using the elixir and the Code Cast at the same time."

The wound on Saber's chest from the arrow was still very visible, yet Saber showed no expression of pain on her face. Emu marvelled at the tenacity of this woman.

The girl held up the vial of pink liquid vertical on the palm of her left hand and with her right hand opened up a virtual console. A pink sigil consisted of diamonds appeared over the arrow wound on Saber and closed it up in no time at all. The elixir vanished into orange dust.

Emu, although he had experience this type of rapid healing before, was nonetheless still amazed as the speed and efficiency of the healing. If something like this were to exist in his own world, it would completely revolutionise medicine.

 _You have to get back there first._

He remembered the situation he was in and hung his head. True, even though this world is definitely more advanced than his own, his goal was to escape. And to do that…

The instincts of the voices in his head were almost integrated into his own instincts. He felt their urges deep in his subconscious and lamented the fact that it has become part of him. But for now, he needed to focus on the situation at hand.

"Does it hurt?" he asked Saber.

"This is nothing more than a bug-bite." Saber responded smugly. "How about you, Praetor?"

Emu nodded his head. The trap did not do much permanent damage, and very quickly after being released the wounds on his legs subsided.

The purple-haired girl went over to a kitchen area and started preparing tea.

"Use the beds as much as you want." She said to Emu and Saber. She took a teapot of the tea and poured it into a cup.

"We have been nothing but trouble, are we not?" Saber asked the girl. Emu shared that sentiment. They had invaded her home and are now being a sort of a burden to her.

"No need to mind it." The girl responded.

Emu exhaled. It was fine then, it seemed. However, there were a few questions still lingering in his mind.

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" Emu asked.

The girl turned around holding a platter of teacups and the teapot.

"I am Rani VIII." She responded. "A Magus who lost her Servant."

 _Another one, huh?_

Where was Rin, anyways?

"I'm the only former Master with the role of a rebel in this floor." Rani continued.

"I am Saber!" Saber cut in, introducing herself with a flourish in her voice. "And this is my Maestro, Emu Hojo!"

"And the one with the bullet wound is Tenkuji Takeru" Emu added, gesturing to the bed where Takeru laid. Takeru lifted his head weakly.

"Nice to meet you. I am Tenkuji Takeru." He said in a quiet voice. He then lowered his head on the pillow again.

"Speaking of which, I seem to have seen you somewhere before." Saber noted. "That's right, where did that girl go?"

Exactly what Emu was thinking. It seemed that their minds were in sync.

"Right. Where's Rin?" Emu demanded.

"The man who attacked you two is the Floor Master of the second floor." Rani said, ignoring their question. "He is my enemy. He is the strongest former Wizard on this floor."

She paused. Then she continued.

"His name is Dan Blackmore."

She offered tea to Saber, who politely declined with a raise of her hand. Emu, however, was more partial to tea at that moment, so he took a cup.

"After SE RA PH broke down, he kills every Master who comes here."

"On this second floor, other than you and the Floor Master, are there any Masters?" Saber inquired.

Emu also was curious to know.

Rani took a second to think. Then she shook her head.

"No. Other than the Masters who went back to the First Floor, he has killed everyone."

She stood over the fireplace, watching the flames flickering in the hearth.

Saber raised her head.

"I see" she said.

Emu looked down at his cup of tea. If she was the only one left here…

"Have you been fighting by yourself?" he asked her.

Rani walked away from the fireplace and looked outside the window.

"I've been waiting." She spoke quietly.

"For Fifty years, I've waited for the next Master who was willing to ascend to this floor."

 _Fifty years!_

 _That's almost a lifetime!_

Emu couldn't believe his ears.

"I had concluded that there were no more Masters willing to show up, but the stars said that there would be one more Master that would show up."

 _The stars?_

"Does that mean you had been waiting for Maestro to arrive?" Saber asked.

Rani turned around.

"I think so."

She stood for a moment, staring at Saber intensely.

"Hmm? What's wrong? Are you that entranced by my beauty?" Saber asked, looking almost flattered.

Emu sighed. _Arrogant as always, huh?_

"I know how your Holy Grail War will carry out, Saber." Rani spoke. "We have never met before, unfortunately."

Saber looked intrigued. "Is that so?" She tilted her head. "That is quite unfortunate, indeed. Because you are a top-class Magus for being able to blow up those arrows, the Heroic Spirit you summoned must be well-met, unlike that coward who hides his presence."

She spoke those last words with a feeling of disgust in her voice.

Rani went over to the tea set on the table and stooped to pick them up, a mournful look on her face.

"He was a Heroic Spirit with a strong resolve."

She picked up the cup.

"During the previous Holy Grail War, I often see Heroic Spirits of such type, including their Masters.

She looked up with reminiscence.

"A tournament where Masters gather. The tournament was indeed a bloodbath, but there were still rules and understanding of each other. In addition, humans back then still had…"

She stopped, struggling to get the words out.

"…still had hopes." Saber finished for Rani.

Emu turned to Saber. She continued.

"You have a point. In spite of the nature of this Battle Royale, everyone could still feel the glory in it."

Emu nodded in understanding. It was unfortunate that he was incarnate in this part of this timeline.

 _A false heaven. City Ruins. There's nobody here. Therefore…_

 _Where's the glory?_

 _There was never any. It was all fake._

 _Hope…_

 _For us, that is…._

He could feel the other side of him flare up again. Emu did his best to repress it. He knew what their hopes were, and he shuddered at the thought.

The thudding of Rani's cup on her table shook him back to his senses. He turned to Rani.

"SE RA PH is a virtual room created by the Moon Cell; a stage play of the Holy Grail War." Rani spoke. "A new, open world for the human race, and their final frontier. The Moon Cell is like a storage of the souls of humans, able to create the ideal environment. A machine-made heaven."

 _Like a Game World…_

"The truth is, if it is not used in the wrong hands, SE RA PH could be the ideal paradise for humans. However," Rani turned to the window. "SE RA PH is on the brink of destruction right now. "

Emu had heard this multiple times before, but the reasons were still hazy in his mind.

"Why…?"

The burning questions in his mind came to the forefront.

"Why is SE RA PH like this? Why did it end up like this?"

And the most important of them all

"Why is there nobody else?"

 _Could it be… something to do with..._

 _No. Not us. This is not our doing. This place…_

"…is like a machine-made hell."

 _For us. For you. For them._

 _That is why…_

Rani bowed her head.

"I am unable to answer those questions as of now."

Emu, unsatisfied, looked on with an expression of shock. How could she not know? After fifty years on being in this place…

Suddenly, Takeru yawned.

"I understand that this is all plot-relevant stuff" Takeru stretched his arms, wincing in pain. "But I would like to get some sleep. I need this leg to heal if we are to ever move on."

Saber nodded.

"Indeed, I am exhausted." Saber agreed. "Apologies, Praetor, I shall be taking a rest."

She climbed into her bed and pulled the blankets over herself.

"That's right. We have to rest." Rani said. "This cottage has the same healing effect as the Mile Room." She pulled the curtains across the sides of the bed, dividing them into cubicles.

"You should be taking a rest as well, Maestro." Saber yawned from behind the curtains.

Emu remained sitting on his chair, mulling through thoughts.

 _I-_

The lights shut off.

"You should take a rest." Rani advised.

* * *

"In the beginning, the Holy Grail War used to be only an act to collect information."

Emu opened his eyes. He was standing on a piece of marble in a murky room, held up with black pillars inscribed with green lines, that was submerged a little bit in water. Other pieces of marble and rock were strewn across the room, and the only illumination was the glow of a strange cube emitting a blue-green light from a sphere in the centre.

 _What… is that?_

In front of Emu sat the man in the white coat that he had seen from the bottom floor at the pit. He was facing the strange cube looking down.

"The Moon Cell only wanted to collect human information accurately. However, the Masters that were dragged to the moon started killing each other for personal reasons."

His form flickered.

"They lost their way. Just like you."

 _Me? Lost… my way?_

Though the voices inside him had their own desires, Emu was sure that he wanted to escape.

Or… was he?

"People who only care about their own interest. People who don't know their roots. People who don't know what they will become. Such foolish humans."

He turned around and raised his hands to the sky, his glasses glinting under the turquoise light.

"I am the one who decides the ones worthy of the Holy Grail.

For the human race, I am like the devil. However, the wheel of life spins endlessly. In order to make everything alive, and to save human beings, I bestow this power."

He looked down again.

"Too bad. You'll never reach the Angelica Cage."

There was a blinding white light, then sudden blackness.

* * *

Emu opened his eyes. He was lying in the bed in Rani's house.

 _A dream?_

He got up and clutched his face.

 _Was that… their memory?_

It was definitely not his. Apart from the encounter in the Preliminaries, he had never seen that man before in his life.

 _Who is he? Tell me!_

And yet for once, the voices were silent.

 _Angelica Cage. He said something along those lines._

His mind flitted back to the vague image of the cube. That place.

 _That must be the top floor…_

The room felt so foreign, and yet… there was a familiarity to it.

 _Have I ever been there._

 _No._

 _Have they ever been there?_

 _Answer me!_

The voices didn't respond.

 _What does it mean? Did they descend from there?_

 _No, wait…_

 _Could he know what they are?_

 _Has he kept killing them over and over again in my dream?_

 _Is that… my enemy?_

It definitely seemed like that. He felt a shudder from inside of him. Despite not knowing him, he nonetheless felt enmity against him. An irrational hatred. One that he didn't understand…

He looked over at Saber, who was sleeping soundly in her bed. Then to Takeru, also sleeping, a peaceful smile on his face.

 _Lucky of him to have good dreams…_

He got up quietly, so as not to disturb them, put on his doctor's coat and went out.

The woods were chilly, and Emu quickly wrapped his arms around himself. If he had a thicker coat, then he would have taken it. As it was, he only had his trusty doctor's coat. Putting it on reassured him of his value, who he was. He progressed forwards.

In a dimly lit area ahead of him, he saw a figure crouched at a lamp, looking down. For a second, Emu was scared that the enemy Servant had found them, and he pulled out his driver. However, the figure looked up, and Emu recognised her distinct purple hair.

It was Rani.

"My apologies, did I wake you up?" Rani asked.

Emu put down his driver and walked up to her.

"No. It's fine."

He then looked around and gasped.

Around the area, crosses had been stuck into the ground, lit by candles in front of them. The crosses were ornate, yet they were rusted, as if they were placed there aeons ago. Around them, duplicate Ranis were walking around, some kneeling in front of the crosses and others wandering about with no distinct purpose.

 _Are they… clones?_

"They are copies made from the doll's core." Rani explained. "They only walk as dolls, and they won't fight. However, depending on the input, they are capable of doing complex tasks."

She held up her left palm face-up. A glowing white cube emerged from thin air over her hand.

"They require users, but they can also transform into swords or armed machinery."

She looked intensely into the bright light of the cube. Emu did the same, half intrigued and half worried about the dolls. From his perspective, they uncannily seemed like exact replicas of Rani.

She made the cube vanish and put down her hand. She then opened up a purple virtual console in the air with her right hand and inputted some commands.

"Have you calmed down now?"

The dolls vanished into orange mist, similar to that of a Bugster vanishing. Emu nodded his head warily.

Rani returned to the cross she was tending.

"Then, what do you want?" she said.

Emu looked around again. He hadn't noticed small specks of light floating around the air. He looked at each one closely, mulling through his thoughts.

"I had a nightmare." He replied.

Rani's face was understanding. "I see." She murmured.

They stayed quiet for a short while. Emu continued circulating his thoughts in his mind, searching for other things to say. Finally, he came upon a question that had bugged his mind since entering the area.

"Are those… graves?"

Rani nodded.

"Correct. Here lie Masters who lost their lives on this floor."

This confirmed Emu's suspicions. Although he had been to graveyards before, there were no plaques anywhere, no indication of any names. The crosses were identical to each other, as if little thought about distinction was made. A graveyard for the nameless.

 _Just like my hallucinations. Just like…_

"Among them were good and bad people." Rani continued, cutting into Emu's thoughts. "However, everyone here had been living in desperation. Thus, they deserved to be mourned. I have decided to always be alongside them."

Emu understood. Whether a person was evil or not, their lives still mattered. Remembrance is essential for their memories to not die out.

Still, that was not a job for mechanical dolls to do. Not for one person.

Rani looked up at the golden circle in the sky.

"Why do you wish to ascend? What kind of Master would you like to be?"

Emu opened his mouth to speak, but his voice caught in his throat.

 _Wasn't it my intention to escape?_

He searched around for his desires, but that question caught him off guard.

 _Of course. It's to return to reality._

 _Don't be silly. That's not what you want._

 _Look around you. So much death. So many killed. And for what? Your wishes had aligned with us from the beginning._

They were right. That old desire of his had diminished, eclipsed by a new one. He knew, but didn't want to say it.

"…I don't really know. I just feel… like it had to be done…."

Rani acknowledged the response, yet said nothing.

Emu sudden remembered something.

"A while back, you said something about 50 years… Is that how long you've been here? "

Rani stopped.

"You don't know?"

She stood up and turned to face Emu.

"I have been here for much longer. Since the 21st Century."

 _Wait, since?_

"Then… what year is it now?" Emu tentatively asked.

Rani's already downcast face became even more crestfallen.

"3020."

 _3020!?_

Emu gulped.

"So, that means…"

"Yes. I've been here for about a millennia after SE RA PH collapsed. The world is now dying, and we are the last of Humanity."

Emu shook his head in disbelief.

 _This game, this war… is millennia old!?_

 _No, no. It can't be. It hasn't been that long!_

 _Yes it is. You know it's true._

He searched his memories, trying to remember when he entered the game. However, he came up with nothing.

 _What was the last memory I had?_

The image of the burning city in the pit on the bottom floor suddenly jumped into his mind. Could it be…

 _No! That's not my memory!_

 _Yes it is. It is what you remember. We share our memories._

"I assume you are aware of that circle's purpose." She interrupted, indicating upwards with her eyes.

Emu looked up.

The golden circle, Chakravartin, was intent on destroying the Moon Cell. He knew that already.

"If that circle destroys the Moon Cell…"

She turned to Emu.

"then humanity will disappear from this universe."

Emu's mind raced. If he wanted to escape-

 _No. That is not what you want._

 _No! Stop! Stop!_

 _Face it. There is nothing to go back to. Your world is gone. The humans you are trying to save are worthless._

Instinctively, Emu knew they were correct. Being trapped in this game for a millennia, their rage and revenge was understandable. And humanity's decline means that they were the last of their species, and they were wasting it killing each other for a prize unattainable. He only had to look around him to prove that. All those faceless bodies in the earth. It was all useless.

 _All you can do now is satisfy us. That circle will steal our revenge. Therefore…_

"Umm, excuse me?"

Rani was shaking Emu lightly. He opened his eyes.

"Are you alright?"

Emu took a breath and calmed down.

"Yeah. I'm alright."

Rani nodded.

"Good. Get some rest. It's getting late."

Emu turned around and headed back to the house, while Rani turned around and crouched down to the cross she was tending.

She took out a small red-and-white Eyecon from her pocket and looked at it.

"He's very interesting, isn't he?" she asked the Eyecon.

* * *

The clock tower chimed again.

Inside, Dan Blackmore was polishing his rifle.

"Why didn't you target the Master first?" he asked his Servant, Archer.

Archer sighed.

"No, I _did_ target him."

Dan was unsatisfied with that response.

"You were just having fun with Saber, weren't you? Had you targeted the Master in the first place, you would've finished him before that bitch arrived."

Archer looked downtrodden.

"Ah well…"

Dan continued to polish his gun.

"Theres no other chance. You have to take out the Master."

"Alright, alright." Archer sighed.

"It looks like they have joined forces, though."

Dan stopped polishing.

"That doesn't matter."

He cocked the rifle and peered down the scope.

"This time, we will ascend!"


	11. Chapter 8: Preparation

Chapter 8: Preparation

The soft morning sunlight shone through the dense foliage of the trees. In front of Rani's house, Tenkuji Takeru was training vigilantly with a staff made from a branch. He swung his staff downwards onto an imaginary enemy, then raised it as if to defend himself from his enemy's own downward blow. His face was contorted with intense effort, struggling to hold in the pain of his leg. Although the night in the house had healed the wound sufficiently so that he could move on it, he still felt some residual pain within that leg, so he was spending the morning trying to get used to it. The sound of swishing filled the peaceful air as Takeru continued to spar with his foe. Then, unable to take the pain anymore, he collapsed onto his knees, propping himself up with his staff.

In that period of respite, his mind flashed back to the events of the previous day.

 _I got shot…_

He looked down at his right leg. The scar was still visible where the bullet entered, although it had faded very quickly overnight. He sighed.

 _What happened afterwards…?_

* * *

 _Landing on the ground with a thud, Takeru had stayed there, gripping his leg in excruciating pain. The blood already formed a pool around him, soaking into the earth. He looked around, trying to catch sight of his allies, but he could see nothing but trees for miles on end. He got up, wincing as he put a little pressure on his right leg to get up, then leant on a tree, breathing heavily._

 _"I need to deal with this wound quickly." He thought._

 _Although he wasn't a doctor like Emu was, he knew enough about first aid to know that he needed to stem the bleeding. He took off the red cloth rope and tied it around his leg tightly, clenching his teeth to withstand the pain. After a while, the bleeding slowed down and stopped._

 _Takeru breathed a sigh of relief and, breaking off a branch to serve as a stick for support, limped into the forest in search of Emu and Saber._

 _As he walked through the forest, he took the time to look around and take in the scene. The forest was very peaceful and, had Takeru not been in the life-or-death situation he was in, he would have stopped to admire it. The foliage was lush and green, with beams of sunlight streaming through, illuminating the grass-covered earth below his feet. The only sounds that filled the air was the chirping of birds and the whooshing of wind. The aroma of grass and flowers hung in the atmosphere. For a moment, Takeru smiled._

 _Suddenly, he saw in the distance purple smoke snaking towards him, leaving a trail of dead grass in its wake. Takeru snapped out of his trance and clutched his heart, feeling a sense of danger within him:_

 _"Emu and Saber… I need to hurry!"_

 _He bolted forward, rushing right into the purple fog. His leg screamed in protest, but his desire to protect his friends silenced its cries. As he neared the centre of the smoke cloud, he saw Emu on the floor, his legs caught in some sort of trap, and Saber on her knees, her sword planted in the ground._

 _"Emu!"_

 _He materialised his Ghost Driver and pulled out the first Eyecon he could find. It was the Drake Eyecon. He opened the Ghost Driver, dropped the Eyecon into the Driver and closed it, pulling the lever on the side outwards._

 _EYE!_

 _BATCHIRIMINA! BATCHIRIMINA!_

 _The Drake Damashii emerged from the Ghost Driver. It was essentially Drake's coat with a hoodie attached, and on that hoodie was a black pirate's hat similar to the one Drake wore, except that it was integrated into the hoodie._

 _"Henshin!"_

 _Takeru slammed the side lever of the driver in. His body glowed as the Ghost Transient Armour materialised. Then, the Damashii landed on Takeru's armour like a coat, solidifying into a hoodie._

 _AROUND THE WORLD WE'RE CIRCLING! LET THE WILD HUNT BEGIN!_

 _Ghost, now in Drake Damashii, rushed towards Saber. He materialised his Gan Gan Saber and, stepping in front of Saber, raised it just in time and blocked a barrage of arrows from hitting Saber. He stood motionless, waiting for the mysterious archer's next move. Suddenly, the pain in his leg reignited, and he fell to his knees, his armour dissipating. He looked down at the earth and saw that blood from his leg had begun to soak it a crimson red. He sighed._

 _I failed..._

 _Suddenly, he felt an intense heat around him for an instant. He looked up and saw that Saber had incinerated the vicinity with a pillar of fire. It was a temporary move, but it had failed to defeat the enemy Servant. With a mocking laugh he had fired his final volley, but the arrows had exploded in midair, finally driving the Servant out of his camouflage. It was then that Takeru had a proper look at their attacker: Orange hair, green cloak, medieval outfit, crossbow on arm..._

 _The colour drained from Takeru's face. He recognised that sort of outfit from a particular Heroic Spirit he knew very well..._

 _"That outfit... It can't be..."_

* * *

Entering the dining room after his training, he was surprised to see Emu and Saber already in the middle of breakfast. Saber looked up and waved, gesturing him to sit. Takeru did so.

Saber was devouring her place of eggs and toast and taking swigs of water from her glass in between bites. Emu, however, was sitting motionless, staring at his glass, as if he was deep in thought. His face lacked the shine of his usual optimistic self. Instead, it was hollow, as if he had aged internally by years.

For a moment Takeru wondered what was going on with Emu. He had been like this ever since the elevator between the bottom floor and the first floor.

Could it be due to that thing Drake was talking about...?

"Umu! I have not eaten anything since yesterday!" Saber proclaimed with glee as she continued eating. "I shall eat much more this time! Maestro, Takeru, you too!"

Takeru understood what she was saying. They needed to recover their strength, and for that, food is essential. He therefore put his thoughts aside and started eating.

* * *

"1000 years" Emu mumbled to himself.

He was still mulling over the significance of those words. They had been plaguing his mind ever since the previous night.

Rani took a drink from her glass.

"999 years, to be precise." she said.

Takeru wondered what they were talking about.

"What is with your gloomy face, Maestro?" Saber enquired, her mouth full of eggs. "1000 years is nothing to me! After all, I was from 2,000 years ago. Wait, was it 3000?"

She swallowed her mouthful and went on.

"Anyways, that matters not! No matter the era, at the very least, I am here with you. That is more than enough for me!"

Emu looked up towards Saber. She smiled, her face beaming at him. Takeru also smiled as well. It was nice for Saber to try to cheer up Emu. Emu's mood didn't improve much, however. He returned to looking down at his glass.

"Saber's got a point." he said quietly.

Saber's smile grew even wider.

"Am I not?"

For a moment, there was silence. Then, Emu's face rose up and he cracked a small smile.

"Thank you, Saber. I feel a bit more relieved."

"Umu!" Saber responded in satisfaction.

Takeru was glad to see Emu feel better.

* * *

After they had cleared away the dishes, Rani set up a virtual layout of the arena. It showed the entire forest as well as the house they were in, the abandoned manor the previous elevator landed in and the clock tower.

"Alright, shall we talk about the plan?" Rani beckoned the others to the table.

Emu, Saber and Takeru gathered around the table. Rani took out some chess pieces and placed them on the table.

"In order to win, know your enemy first."

"War tactics, is it not?" Saber noted. "Very well. What do you know about this floor's Master?"

Rani began: "He's a top-notch soldier, someone with the desire to keep winning. Dan Blackmore."

She opened up a virtual console and began tapping in commands.

"A Master who has killed many of the same kind in the second floor."

She finished typing in commands. A screen opened up displaying Dan's profile and picture.

"His purpose is to ascend to the upper floor and doing the same thing over and over. However..."

She paused, then finished her sentence.

"... that will never happen."

"Never?" Emu was surprised. Takeru was too.

"But I thought if you defeated a Master you could ascend, is it not?" Takeru asked.

Rani looked at the profile, scrutinizing it.

"He may be a Floor Master, but he's no longer a Master. He lost a battle 1,000 years ago. That's why he's unable to ascend. Even if he killed Masters, the Ladder won't appear."

So that means...

"What he has been doing is in vain." Takeru finished Emu's thoughts. "That man is insane!"

"Correct. I don't know the truth behind this, but for the past 999 years, he has been killing Masters.

So not only has he been killing hundreds, but all of it was for nothing...

Emu and Takeru both balked at this atrocious waste of life.

"He'll focus on you, Emu, because you're the only Master remaining on this floor."

Rani zoomed in on the house on the virtual map. She then took a white Queen, King, Bishop and Pawn and placed them onto the house.

"I shall be the Queen piece. The most powerful piece on the board!" Saber proclaimed smugly.

"I shall be the bishop." Rani said. "Takeru is the pawn. I am aware of his ability to wield the souls of other Servants, so that will be like a pawn's promotion. Therefore-"

"I shall be the king." Emu said. If he fell, then it would mean their game over.

"Surely Emu should be the knight?" Saber enquired.

Rani shook her head. "The knight shall be Dan Blackmore. As befitting of his soldier days."

She took the black Knight piece and placed it at the Clock Tower.

Saber shrugged. "Oh well, can't be helped."

Rani continued. "Finally, Dan's Servant shall be the Rook." She placed the black Rook piece in the middle of a forest clearing.

Takeru looked at the Rook in apprehension.

"I believe that I know the identity of the Servant we're facing." He said. "I know him well."

Whatever surprise Rani had for that statement did not appear on her face.

"Then, I'll let you introduce him to us." she said.

Takeru went over to the Rook piece and picked it up.

"This Servant uses a bow and arrow, therefore he is an Archer, correct?"

Rani nodded.

"His appearance is that of a medieval character, and his green outfit signifies that the forest is his dwelling. I know this Heroic Spirit. I know because I fought alongside him in order to revive myself from the dead. I created his Eyecon myself during that journey."

He took a breath.

"That Servant is Robin Hood, the Prince of Thieves. An outlaw of legend from British folklore, he stole from the rich to give to the poor. He was supposed to be a noble criminal. I don't understand why he would agree to this kind of warfare."

Rani shook her head.

"You are mistaken in your impression of him, but otherwise you are correct; he is Robin Hood. He was a master of the art of Guerilla Warfare, which allowed him to pick on the most powerful of enemies without them being able to react. That is why he uses traps and poisons."

Takeru frowned.

"Anyways, be aware of his two Noble Phantasms: his invisibility cloak, No Faced May King, and the ability to make his poison explosive. The sacrament of the druid: Yew Bow."

"Explosive?" Saber asked.

"After he has poisoned his opponent, by saying the name of his Noble Phantasm, he can trigger the explosion. It explodes from inside the body."

"That means that you have saved my life." Saber noted. "You have my gratitude, Rani."

"No problem." Rani repllied. Then she went on.

"While both his Noble Phantasms are of the strong kind, he can't use both at the same time. In order to trigger the explosion, he must reveal himself."

Saber nodded.

"In that case, I have a plan. I have trouble winning against invisible enemies, but with this..."

Saber then turned to Takeru.

"Takeru-dono! I wish for you to participate in this fight. We shall face him together!"

"Wait a moment, Saber." Takeru stopped Saber. Then he turned to Rani.

"Rani, I believe if I can get him to recognise me, then we could be able to convince him to stop fighting for Blackmore. We can avoid the need to fight. I don't feel comfortable fighting an old ally."

Rani stopped for a moment to consider it, then she nodded.

"You may try. However, should that fail, you should have a backup plan. In these situations, it is not wise to be too optimistic of your chances."

"Alright. Saber, we'll need to discuss our tactics. I think I have an idea..."

Rani then turned to Emu.

"What about you?"

Emu picked up the black Knight piece. There was no other option. He knew what he had to do.

"I will eliminate Dan Blackmore."

"Very well." Rani responded. "I will lend you a hand."

As she turned around to prepare her things, she stopped and turned around.

"After 50 years of rebellion..."

She adjusted her glasses.

"...let us put an end to this."


	12. Chapter 9: Confrontation

Chapter 9: Confrontation

The four were racing through the forest towards the Clock Tower. Rani was on a white motorcycle, with Emu, already transformed into Ex-Aid for protection, in a sidecar. Takeru, transformed into Ghost, and Saber were running in front of the motorcycle, managing to keep in front of them due to their heightened stats.

"That vehicle looks comfortable." Saber commented as she ran. "Too bad there is only one seat in the side."

"This doesn't match the speed of a Servant." Rani replied.

Suddenly, up ahead, they saw Robin Hood standing in their way.

"There he is!" Takeru shouted.

"Umu. He seems to be greeting us. We go according to the plan! Let's go, Takeru!"

"I leave the Servant to you!" Emu shouted back as the motorcycle veered off to the right.

Saber and Ghost ran ahead, charging straight towards the waiting enemy Servant.

"Saber, now!" Takeru shouted. Saber nodded and, in a flash of light, turned back into her Eyecon form and flew into Takeru's hand. Takeru opened his driver, pulled out his Ore Eyecon that was already in the driver and slammed Saber's Eyecon in. The Ore Parka Ghost currently over his armour vanished into dust. In one fluid motion he closed the driver and pulled out the side lever.

 **EYE!**

 **BATCHIRIMINA! BATCHIRIMINA!**

Saber's Parka Ghost, which looked like a sentient version of Saber's dress with a hoodie attached to the neck, flew out of the Driver and around Takeru for a second. Takeru pushed the driver lever back into the driver.

 **KAIGAN! SABER!**

 **WIELDER OF THE HERO'S BLADE! LET HER TAKE THE STAGE!**

Please… remember!

The Saber Damashii landed on Takeru's armour and solidified into a parka. For a moment, Takeru thought he saw Archer flinch at his transformation and his heart lifted slightly with hope.

Ghost Saber Damashii materialised the Gan Gan Saber and rushed towards Archer. As they clashed, Ghost brought his sword across in a wide sweep, which Archer managed to dodge. More blows followed, all of which Archer deftly deflected with his Crossbow. Finally, they jumped away other and stood for a moment, facing each other.

Saber-san, let me try now. Takeru said to Saber inside the suit.

Saber understood and gave control of Ghost's body back to Archer.

"Robin Hood!"

Archer stopped.

"Ho? You figured out my True Name already?"

"I have, and it's because I know you! I'm Tenkuji Takeru! I fought with you against the Ganma back when they were invading Earth! I summoned you from your bow using Mari Shirase's feelings for helping the poor! You were one of the 15 Heroic Eyecons who I connected with so that I could come back to life! How can you not remember me? Please, stop fighting for Blackmore and come with us! We want to save the Moon Cell!"

Archer's face turned to intrigue.

"Huh. I think I recognise you…"

He turned away, and for a moment, Takeru felt a glimmer of hope that bloodshed could be avoided.

Suddenly, Archer whipped back round and fired a shot from his crossbow at Ghost. Takeru barely had time to react before the arrow penetrated into the chest of the Armour. He yelped and quickly grabbed onto the arrow that had embedded itself into him, pulling it out. Blood spurted out of the place where the arrow hit. He looked back up at Archer, who gave a smirk.

"Sorry, kid. I don't remember you at all. And even if I did, I can't just give up the fight like this."

While Takeru felt shocked and betrayed, Saber's blood boiled.

"You cur! That was an underhand blow! You'll pay for that!"

She brought up the sword and ran towards Archer.

"You'll be a goner anytime soon, so no need to rush!" Archer snarked, before shooting more arrows at Ghost, who deflected all of them, and leaping up into the foliage.

The ground rumbled. Around the outskirts of the forest, giant walls began to rise from the ground like in the First Stratum.

"Alright then, let's have a rematch!" Archer's voice echoed from above. "No… This is the end!"

"How desperate of you, Archer..." Saber retorted. "The one who stole from the rich will be finished off by the once rich! Let's go, Takeru!"

Takeru, shaken out of his shock by Saber's words, agreed, and together they jumped up into the canopy.

* * *

Meanwhile, Rani and Emu continued on their path towards the Clock Tower. Both were silent. Emu was still contemplating the information he received yesterday when Rani spoke.

"SE RA PH was supposed to be made for the observation of humans. But in the end of the day, the Moon Cell is still a machine. Machines can manage human emotions, but not understand them. That's why it can only replicate human behaviours."

Emu understood.

"The Holy Grail War…"

"Correct." Rani continued. "However, that is merely a reaction created from human behaviour. Because the Moon Cell doesn't understand feelings, it throws them away. That is why the bottom floor of SE RA PH became the disposal room of human thoughts and feelings."

Emu recalled the incinerator that was on the bottom floor of SE RA PH. Was that what it was for? He didn't recall much of the lesson, but he definitely heard the teacher's warnings about not going near it. And yet…

Was that what they were talking about?

"In the real world, there's no such thing as life after death. Because of that, it doesn't observe such a concept, and thus SE RA PH manifests humans in spirit form. Thus, for a thousand years, there is a manifestation of dead human thoughts which have gone astray."

Emu felt queasy.

"…who might you be talking about? Dan Blackmore? Or…"

Suddenly, his head began to hurt, and he gripped his forehead with his hands. A spark of purple flickered around Ex-Aid's armour.

* * *

Ghost, meanwhile, had lost Archer, who had activated his No Face May King halfway through the fight. He was walking amongst the trees, sword ready in his hand. Both Takeru and Saber were vigilant in their guard.

"Now…" Archer's voice came from above. Ghost looked up.

"I'm taking this seriously."

Another volley of arrows came Ghost's way. Although Ghost tried his best to parry and dodge the arrows, the onslaught of bolts was never-ending. He turned and ran, arrows striking the ground around him. He leaped up onto a tree and continued running, striking the arrows as they came towards him. Alas, when he jumped down, arrows grazed the Damashii coat, causing Saber to flinch in pain inside the Damashii.

Ghost rolled on the ground and caught another arrow, which became visible in his hand.

"Not bad for a coward…" Saber grunted as she snapped it in two. She let the arrow fall from her hands. Ghost turned around and spoke in Archer's general direction.

"Robin Hood!" Takeru desperately shouted from within the armour. "Stop this now! Your Master is insane! He's no longer able to participate in the Holy Grail War! Why did you continue to kill all those innocent people for nothing?"

"It's nothing personal." Archer responded. "We just don't want to lose. My Master gets nothing of rewards, be it honour or some kind of prize, no matter how many he kills. Do you dare say that to the face of an elder knight? 'You're a loser who should give up and die.' Is that what you want me to say? I'll be hung, drawn and quartered! Sorry, but I'd rather not!"

Takeru was angered by that response. Such cowardice! Is this truly the great hero Robin Hood? I don't recall him being this gutless!

"Anyways, as long as I don't lose…"

A raven cawed near Archer. Ghost turned around.

"… at least my pride can survive!"

He fired another shot, again deflected by Ghost. He looked down and saw that the arrow was poisoned.

 _He fired it. That means we need to act fast._

"Use the Yew Bow!" Saber shouted tauntingly at him. "Show yourself! And when you do, I will strike you down with Rosa Ictus!"

* * *

The motorcycle carrying Emu and Rani finally broke out of the forest and into the sunlight. The Clock Tower was in sight, and Rani increased the throttle of the motorbike, giving it a burst of speed.

Suddenly, the Clock Tower chimed, and dark blotches suddenly blocked Emu's vision. He raised his hands to wipe it off, and when he looked at his hand, he saw that it was blood. Emu then turned to Rani.

Rani had been shot clean through the head.

Everything seemed to slow down around him. The motorcycle lost control as Rani fell backwards, causing the side car to lift in the air, throwing Emu out of it and into a stairwell leading down into the terrace. The Gashat flew out of his driver, cancelling his transformation. He got up onto his knees and looked out. He saw Rani on the ground motionless, a pool of her blood steadily growing around her.

Emu began to get up.

"Don't." Rani raised her left hand. Emu stopped.

"I didn't dodge… to bait the bullet."

Then, with a final weak voice, she commanded Emu.

"Go."

Emu's instincts were screaming at him to save her, but Rani's words had stopped him.

 _Should I leave her?_

 _If I go inside, Rani will get killed._

 _Even if I take care of her, she'll die either way._

The pain returned to Emu's head. He once again grabbed his head and shut his eyes, trying to withstand the pain. He opened his eyes. His vision was reddened, and the faceless bodies of students started appearing around Rani's body.

 _She'll get killed either way._

 _Then, get to the tower…_

 _And take him down._

 _That's what you came for, right?_

 _You made up your mind for this plan, didn't you?_

 _Saber is having a hard time fighting._

 _Rani has sacrificed herself._

 _Don't hesitate!_

 _Get to the Tower!_

 _Revenge is what you desire._

 _That is the right choice._

The pool of blood grew even larger as Rani's body finally went limp.

Emu understood what they were saying. He knew that saving Rani would jeopardise him as well. He knew that she sacrificed his life for her. He should take his vengeance on Blackmore. That is what his purpose is.

 _No…._

And yet a fundamental part of him, even deeper than his voices, started to flare up.

 _That's wrong!_

The clock tower chimed again.

 _That is not who I am! I can't just leave her there! I can't just abandon her!_

 _I can't let her die!_

Emu lifted his head upwards towards Rani, and he screamed skywards in rage.

"DAN BLACKMORE!"

His eyes flashed dark purple.

He grabbed the Mighty Action X gashat from the ground and pulled out the Dangerous Zombie gashat. Activating them both, he slammed them into his driver and pulled it open.

 **GACHAN!**

 **LEVEL UP!**

 **DANGER DANGER!**

 **DEATH THE CRISIS! DANGEROUS ZOMBIE!**

The Dangerous Zombie screen overlaid with the Mighty Action X screen appeared in front of Emu. With a roar of anger he ran through the screen, purple electricity sparking around his body and the black aura cloaking his form.

Emu once again had taken the form of Zombie Action Gamer Level X-2.

And as the bell rang again, he leapt out onto the terrace, kicking up a dust storm and leaving a crater in his wake. As the dust and black aura mixed together, he ran towards Rani and, picking her up, ran back into the forest.

When the dust settled, Rani's body had vanished from the terrace, and only cracks in the floor remained.

Dan Blackmore peered through his scope, irritated.

* * *

In a clearing in the forest, Ex-Aid laid Rani down on her back and tried desperately to stem the bleeding.

"Can you move?" he asked.

Rani nodded her head.

"Can you fight?"

Rani paused for a moment. Then, she nodded her head

* * *

Back in the forest, Ghost was continuing to fight off the arrows. Archer had once again escaped their sight, and Ghost was now running through the forest, looking around for him.

"Goodness, there's a Saber this stubborn?" Archer mused to himself. "But this is taking a while. Sir must have already defeated the Master by default."

Suddenly, he heard an explosion at the Clock Tower. He raised his head towards the noise.

"It can't be… has that kid realised Sir's traps?"

Then he shook his head in disbelief.

"No, there's no way."

He turned back to Ghost, still turning his head rapidly in every direction.

"The poison should still be in their body. Therefore…"

He flipped back his hood and took aim with his crossbow.

"If I use Yew Bow, it's all over!"

The bolt flared up, and a tree started growing from it. Then the wood exploded, leaving behind the Yew Bow trigger.

Ghost stopped moving.

"I see you have revealed your trump card." Saber said.

Blood was oozing out of Ghost's left leg.

"No matter your arrow, I shall deflect it, then slice your throat!"

"And that's where you're wrong, kiddo! This isn't an arrow, it's the explosion trigger! It doesn't have to pierce your body, just touch you!"

He jumped down and aimed his crossbow.

"Yew Bow!"

He fired the trigger, which blazed with green light and grew tendrils of wood.

 _It's no use! You'll explode even if you deflect it!_

"Takeru, now!" Saber shouted from inside Ghost's body.

Ghost hit the top button of the Ghost Driver, ejecting the Eyecon inside. The Saber Damashii coat vanished into dust. He then grabbed the Eyecon and threw it past the flying trigger towards Archer. He lifted up his Gan Gan Saber and blocked the green ball of light.

"What?" Archer's eyes widened. "It… can't be!"

But he didn't have time to register the action before the Eyecon turned back into Saber, who brought out her Rosa Ictus and slashed through Archer.

Then, Ghost pushed the trigger to one side and ran forwards, slashing through Archer as well. Blood spurted out of the two slash wounds left by Takeru and Saber.

The two turned around and faced Archer, who was clutching his stomach. He fell to his knees and turned to glare at Takeru.

"How… did you not explode?"

Takeru detransformed and also fell to his knees. Then he looked up and smiled. Archer look down at Takeru's left leg. The wound made by the bullet from yesterday was re-opened, and blood was coming out rapidly, soaking the ground below. Archer looked back and saw that the ground there was also stained with blood, which steamed with a purple vapour.

"You see, I figured that the poison circulated the body in the blood. Therefore, all I had to do was throw it away!"

"How reckless!" Archer gave a mirthless chuckle. "How are you still alive?"

"That would be me!" Saber proclaimed. "Just who do you think I am? I am a woman capable of surviving a slit throat for three days! As long as our body was intact, we still have this Invictus Spiritus!"

"Ah, I heard of that skill before." Archer said. "Still, that trick was very dirty of you. But who am I to say that?"

Saber walked up to Archer and pointed her sword towards him.

"Are you sill capable of fighting?"

Archer smirked.

"Hasn't it been decided already? More importantly, my Master has been defeated by yours. I can't hear the ringing bells anymore."

Saber's eyes widened, and she turned around. The top of the Clock Tower was smoking. She ran off towards it.

"Go on, like a puppy you run…"

Archer then started to disappear into orange dust. Takeru limped over to him.

"Umm, Archer, if you please. This will only take a while."

Archer looked up at Takeru's face for a moment. Then he smirked.

"Sure, kid, just do what you have to do. I'm done here."

Takeru made a triangle with his hands and, just like Drake, drew the Eye symbol over Archer. His body glowed green, counteracting the orange mist, and he was sucked into the Eye, emerging as a Damashii. It was a green coat with yellow trimmings and a hood with a fake yellow feather stuck to it. The Damashii flew into Takeru's Driver. Takeru put his hands under the eye of his driver, and a green Eyecon came out. It was the same colour as Archer's coat, and its scelera was white. On the plate on the top of the Eyecon was written ES-02 and Archer, and the picture on the top was a bow and arrow positioned to look like a face.

"Welcome back. Robin Hood." Takeru said, smiling.

* * *

Ex-Aid ran up the stairs of the Clock Tower, his armour continuously sparking with purple electricity. When he reached the top, he stood behind the back wall. He peered into the Bell Room and saw Dan Blackmore still holding his rifle aiming outside.

Suddenly, there was a sound of beeping behind him.

He turned around and saw that there were bombs there. He ducked out of the way, but it was too late. The bombs exploded.

* * *

From far away inside the tower of another castle, Dan Blackmore was still looking through the scope on his rifle at the Clock Tower. He had heard the bombs explode, but the dust still made it difficult to see.

"I can't see the Master…"

He lowered his rifle.

"Looks like Archer was having some difficulty there, but with this-"

He stopped mid-sentence as he realised something.

"The Wall's still standing? The Battle hasn't ended yet?"

Then, his eyes widened with shock. Where the Master should have been was… a white cube?

That's-

 **DANGEROUS CRITICAL FINISH!**

He heard a sound behind him, but before he could even turn around, he felt a sharp pain in his left leg. The shock of it caused him to pull the trigger, firing a bullet at the Clock Tower.

As he staggered on his left leg, he managed to turn his body back.

Ex-Aid, in Zombie Action Gamer form, stood behind him, cloaked in a dark aura like the emissary of death, holding in his hand his Gashacon Breaker dripping with blood. Blackmore could feel the cold fury behind the helmet and knew what he was here for.

"This is for Takeru." He said coldly.

Then, quick as a flash, he rushed forwards and drove the blade deep into Blackmore's heart, ripping through the green tunic and causing an explosion of blood to erupt from his back.

"And this" he continued. "is for Rani."

Blackmore felt his muscles weakening, and he slumped backwards, sliding down the wall of the room, leaving a bloody streak, until he hit the floor, limp.

Ex-Aid withdrew his Gashacon Breaker and dropped it down to the side.

Blackmore, still in pain, looked up at the Doctor Gamer, and, groaning with effort, managed to ask in a weak voice.

"How did you know?"

Ex-Aid lifted his sword and pointed at the Clock Tower.

"The bells. Every time you shot, the bells rung. There is no way an experienced soldier such as you would signpost your attacks in such a way. In addition, that vantage point was too obvious. It was like painting a giant target on you saying "I'm here". So why would you choose such a place to snipe? That's when I realised: you didn't."

Ex-Aid swung his sword onto his shoulder.

"I saw that there was another castle in the distance, and I could make out a figure standing at the window. You used the Clock Tower as a decoy, ricocheting the shots off the bells to make it appear that you were shooting from there. Then, when the unsuspecting Master ascended the tower, they would get a nasty surprise. So I sent a decoy myself."

Blackmore smiled.

"Clever, young man, clever." He groaned, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Outside, the bells began to ring again.

Blackmore closed his eyes.

"I can hear the bells ringing…"

His body began to dissolve into an orange mist.

"Somehow, this brings me back… It feels like…"

His muscles relaxed, and he slumped back. The dissolution of his body had reached his neck. With one last sigh, he breathed out his last words.

"…I'm back in those days…"

He vanished into the mist, and his rifle clattered to the floor.

* * *

Emu de-transformed and fell to his knees. Behind him, the elevator descended, signifying the end of the battle. He knelt there, frozen. Now that the rage had subsided, he had realised what he had done.

"Maestro! We won!"

Emu was interrupted by Saber running towards him and giving him a big hug. Emu was happy that she had gotten out there successfully. Then he realised what was missing.

"Where's Takeru?"

"He stayed behind to get the Eyecon." Saber replied. "He should be coming soon."

No sooner had she said that, she heard footsteps behind her. She turned to see Takeru limping slowly, his leg still dripping with blood.

"Takeru!" Emu ran up to him. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. It's not so bad. In fact, I think it's recovering quickly." Takeru replied.

Emu turned back to the red-dressed woman, who was eagerly awaiting Emu's praise.

"Thank you, Saber."

"Umu, umu!" Saber responded gleefully. Then she turned serious.

"There's no time to celebrate! It's just like the first floor! As soon as the Floor Master is gone, the floor falls apart!"

She was right. Already the forest was dissolving into black dust.

"Departure time: 2 minutes" The elevator said behind them.

"No! Rani's still on the ground! I need to go!"

Emu turned to run down, but Saber grabbed his doctor's coat.

"There's no time left!"

"But, Rani-"

"You fool!" Saber shouted. "Has she said something about ascending with you?"

Emu remembered.

 _I have decided to always be alongside them._

"Ever since the beginning…"

This was her choice.

"Now do you understand, Maestro?" Saber said.

Emu was stuck.

Takeru walked forward and placed a hand of Emu's shoulder.

"Rani sacrificed her life to save yours. We need to honour her sacrifice. Normally, I would hate to leave her behind, but here we have no choice."

Emu felt torn.

In the end, they were right. She would die either way.

But at least she can rest in dignity.

Takeru turned and looked out into the forest. Emu did too.

 _Thank you, Rani._

* * *

On the ground, Rani's form was also vanishing into purple mist.

"Thank goodness. The final star has soared up into the sky."

She felt her eyes getting heavier.

"But, be careful… That mask of death will… one day…"

Before she could finish her sentence, her vision went dark, leaving nothing but the void.

* * *

Takeru took out the Robin Hood Eyecon. It glowed green, and Takeru's form was drawn into it once again.

When he opened his eyes, he was in a forest. It was the same forest that they had fought in on the 2nd Floor, except it was night. He wandered around for a while before he saw a light in the distance. He slowly paced towards the light. The light was a blazing campfire, crackling and flickering in the soft wind. Sitting in front of it was a hooded figure wearing a green cloak.

The hooded figure turned around and lowered his cloak.

It was Robin Hood. Well, it was a given, since it was his Eyecon.

"So, I guess you've come to talk, huh?" Robin asked, his tone slightly annoyed.

"Yeah."

Robin sighed and, picking up a torch and lighting it with the campfire, gestured Takeru to follow him. They walked deeper into the forest

"My Master was not always the murderous lunatic that you fought. There was once a time when he was chivalrous. Noble. Like a knight was supposed to be. He fought in the Holy Grail War 1000 years ago and lost, but the reason was that he handicapped himself."

Takeru was curious.

"How did he do that?"

"My abilities all rely on traps and poison. I fought this one Master and managed to get a good poison shot at him during the day. However, my foolish Master, always going on about chivalry and all that, removed his poison, forced me to break all my poisoned arrows and fight fairly. However, that led to our defeat. Forced out into the open, I couldn't manage against the enemy Servant and was swiftly pushed down. Damned flying swords... "

Takeru could hear Robin mutter a bit under his breath. He could feel that there was still some resentment left in him.

He turned back around and continued walking.

"As I lay dying, I saw my body vanishing into mist. I thought it was all over. However, when I opened my eyes, I saw that we were revived. My Master, bittered by his loss, spend the next 1000 years killing all the Masters who climbed the ladder to the floor. I was forced to help. The new plan he adopted was extraordinarily dirty, even if it was effective, and every shot he made was done without mercy. Then again, I can't really say much, given my own fighting style..."

He trailed off a bit and slowed to a halt. Takeru wondered what he was stopping for. He stood still for a moment, then shook his head and continued walking.

They reached a clearing, where a large tree stood before them. At the foot of that tree was a gravestone, its name mostly obscured by moss. There was a pause. Silence hung in the air, save for the sounds of crickets chirping in the night. Then, Robin turned around and looked at Takeru.

"My Master... before he died the first time, he gave a message to the other Master about accepting the outcome of any fight or something like that. I didn't like that message at all. But what he said afterwards was more important..."

He paused for a second. Takeru listened intently.

"'If possible, you have to find the meaning of a fight. What are you fighting for? What are you not losing for? You have to find that answer yourself and deliver your responsibility until the end.' I ask you: what are you fighting for? Is it as simple as escaping this place?"

Takeru thought for a moment. To be honest, he was starting to doubt himself. Of course he wanted to escape. But could he really do so and leave this place to rot? What was he supposed to do about it?

"Oh, and another thing..."

Takeru snapped out of his thoughts.

"Even the noblest of hearts hide darkness within them. That, I think, is the best lesson to get from all this. Though I, Robin Hood, am seen by you as a hero, I am actually a fighter willing to get my hands dirty. Though my Master, Dan Blackmore, was once a chivalrous knight, he became a monster who kills without regret. Your friend..."

He paused, a concerned expression on his face.

"Your friend... I can see that he is a good man, but behind him lies something else. In his eyes, I could see something... like my Master had..."

He trailed off once again. Then, he suddenly shook his head.

"Anyways, I'm not good with lessons. I don't know if there's much I can teach you telling you this. Just something to get off my mind. Anyways, I think your friends are waiting for ya. You should probably go back now."

Takeru understood.

"It was nice talking to you again, Robin."

He turned round to go.

After a few steps, he turned back round.

"By any chance, did you remember anything about me?"

Robin shook his head.

"Sorry, kid. Still don't remember."

Takeru, although disappointed, nonetheless thanked Robin again. Then, he continued his way. As he left the clearing, his body slowly went transparent until he disappeared.

Robin sat down beside Dan's grave.

"It's over now, Sir. Satisfied now? What a long journey we've been through."

He lay back on the tree.

"There was no way that I could win face to face. That was the one thing you miscalculated. But even so..."

He touched the gravestone gently.

"...I'm glad you can finally rest. You've fought long enough, and you can finally see your beloved."

With that, he closed his eyes.

* * *

On the Elevator, Emu was sitting on the couch wracked with guilt, his head in his hands. Saber was gloomy too, Rani's sacrifice and certain death still fresh in their minds. Takeru was mulling over the words given to him by Robin.

"Well, hasn't she got what she wanted?"

A female voice spoke behind the three.

"After all, she has finally met the star she's been waiting for."

Saber contemplated this for a moment.

"Well, I suppose that is for the best…"

"I hope so…" Emu agreed. And yet, that feeling of guilt wouldn't go-

Huh?

Emu, Takeru and Saber turned around.

Rin was standing at the doorway to the room, a lollipop in her mouth.

"What are you doing here?" was all the three could say.

Rin smiled and took out her lollipop.

"Yah-hoo~!"


	13. Chapter 10: Encounter

**Chapter 10: Encounter**

 _My third battle is over._

A figure in a brown uniform was standing at the end of a bridge, which led to the Elevator.

From the quilt-like hills, strange polka-dotted giraffe-shaped animals were drifting out of the forest of trees, looking up at the figure.

In front of him stood a little girl. Her pink eyes were downcast, welling up with tears.

 _I somehow managed to win here again. I'm glad you weren't hurt._

The girl didn't respond.

 _I'm ascending._

As the little girl grasped her dress, a tear fell from her eyes.

"Don't go…"

Then, the tears cascaded down.

"Don't go! Please don't go! Don't leave me!" she cried.

 _I'll come back when I get the Grail._

The figure reached out to pat her head, but hesitated. Then, he lowered his hand.

 _I promise._

He then turned around and walked away into the elevator.

As the elevator started to rise, the girl wiped away her tears.

"Okay. I'll be waiting. Come back and find me."

* * *

The elevator dinged, indicating that they had arrived at the third floor. Emu, Takeru, Saber and Rin walked out.

As Emu stepped onto the ground, his feet sunk in. Emu looked down, confused. He knelt and touched the ground, then pushed his hand in. The ground felt soft, like felt, and it sunked in like a pillow would.

Takeru was looking around, taking in the view. The land was very surreal. The trees were silver, and lacked leaves. Their branches were straight and pointed, like they were thorns.

"It's another forest." Takeru noted.

Then, he saw ahead a crater, in the centre of which was what appeared to be a cracked plate with red splotches in the middle, on which had another elevator-like structure in the middle.

"Is that… the Ladder?"

* * *

As they approached it, they saw a sign on the door. It said "Being Cleaned." Rin reached out to touch it, but it sparked on contact.

"This is no mere sign." She said. "It's a barrier so strong that Codecasts can't even scratch it."

"Which makes it likely that a Master lies on this floor." Saber added. "Still, it is unsettling to see the Ladder already down before the fight."

Behind it was a structure with a clock with an incomplete face. It showed 6:00.

Ahead of them, the forest shifted, revealing a castle atop a dress-like structure in the distance. From where they were, it looked like something out of a pastel painting.

"I guess the boss should be in that Castle." Emu stated.

"Yes. This is the Third Stratum. A place of lost dreams, one where ghosts gather. People call it the Nameless forest." Rin explained.

Takeru shifted in his feet.

"It does look gloomier than the second stratum, right?"

Rin asked Emu.

Emu nodded.

* * *

The path to the castle was marked by floating bricks, which Saber happily jumped across. The other three preferred to go on the ground.

"By the way, what do you mean by "ghosts gather"?" Takeru asked Rin.

"I mean it quite literally. Even during the War, they manifested more often on this Stratum. However, ever since it turned into this, they've apparently appeared quite often."

"What did?" Emu queried.

"Ghosts."

Takeru nodded his head in understanding.

"Rani mentioned something like that too. Are there ghosts like me in this Cyber world?" Takeru asked.

Rin had been told Emu and Takeru's stories, so understood what he meant.

"Of course. After all, SE RA PH is a world where souls are turned into data and stabilised. On Earth, you couldn't live without a physical form. Even with you being dead, you still needed to be anchored by your Eyecon. Here, however, it's possible. That said…"

Rin's expression turned dark.

"They are like stains upon the fabric of SE RA PH." Saber continued. "Ghosts are merely the playback of a record from moments before death. They cannot leave the place upon which their demise is etched. I would not go so far as to call it life."

"Exactly." Rin affirmed. "Cyber ghosts are nothing but bugs that slipped into the code. If the Moon Cell finds one, it deletes them immediately. I guess you could call them dreams of the dead."

"Ah, so that's why they were trying to delete me on the bottom floor." Takeru noted. "But why have they stopped?"

"Who knows. I guess that driver of yours has made you into an existence similar to a Heroic Spirit, and thus it recognises you as a participant in the war. You don't seem like a standard Ghost. They're much like Dead Face in that they can't move from where they arose, whereas you have been following us since the beginning."

 _Dead Face?_

Emu stopped in his tracks. He turned to Rin.

"The deathly countenance. The Mask of Destruction. The unknown factor. I guess one could call them X."

The image of the dead bodies on the bottom floor flashed in Emu's mind, as well as his previous encounters with those voices. His head ached a little. He touched the Dangerous Zombie gashat in his pocket and continued walking.

 _What else does she know? Does she know what that is, when even I don't?_

"You don't know? It's somewhat of a legend that's formed in SE RA PH over the past thousands years. Supposedly, it's a materialisation of the thoughts of the dead, yet not a ghost."

"Have you seen it?" Emu asked.

"Nope. It's just a rumour."

 _Rumour? Is that all it is?_

"Unlike Dead Face, not all cyber ghosts are dangerous." Rin commented.

"Truth be told. I like them. They're not really different from us Wizards."

Takeru, who had been listening into the conversation, considered this.

"If we represent the potential of the dead, then you're the hope of the living. The ghosts represent what the dead have been, and the wizards represents what the living could be. Because everyone has infinite potential, right?"

"Exactly." Rin affirmed. "Though I'm not so sure on the 'infinite' part-"

"Halt." Saber interjected. She stopped walking.

"The stage for the third Stratum is in view."

* * *

The three of them climbed up a ledge at the bottom of the dress-like structure, which led to a door. Meanwhile, Saber just waltzed on the bricks onto the ledge. It seems that the bricks were raised for a reason.

The door was very large. So large that it looked like one out of a fairy tale. It was blue oak, with unicorns painted on them and golden door handles. However, it flickered, betraying its true aged and weathered appearance. While Saber would have loved to use the large door, there were 2 tinier doors embedded on the bottom of the larger door. Those doors only went up to the Emu's hips. Emu and Rin took the left door, while Saber and Takeru took the right.

"Let's go inside. Are you guys ready?" Rin asked.

"Of course." Saber responded smugly. "We shall settle this before evening falls."

Takeru gave a thumbs up.

"The enemy will probably be stronger than in the first two rounds." Rin warned, gazing up the massive structure. "Don't hesitate, Emu, no matter who your opponent is."

Emu, despite his doubts, nodded. He grabbed the handle, turned it and pushed the door open.

The doors led to a strange pathway littered with book pages. Empty drawers floated in the air, and there were cages in the middle of the path filled with miscellaneous objects.

 _It's uninhabited._

"Do not let your guard down, Maestro." Saber said. "You never know when we might be ambushed like last time."

Emu remembered well. His friend was shot. He vowed to never let it happen again.

The four began to progress down the path. Takeru was walking with Rin in front, while Saber and Emu were behind.

"There aren't any traces of anyone living here. At least not in years." Rin commented.

"Any traces of fighting?" Saber enquired.

"Not in the least."

As Emu walked past a cage filled with playing cards, the cards suddenly exploded outwards, showering Emu in cards. He raised his hand to block them, and one landed in his hands.

It was an Ace of Hearts, and on it were two phrases made out of letters cut out from somewhere.

 _PussYCat, PuSsYcaT, wHeRE HAvE yOu bEen?_

 _WhaT aRe liTtlE gIrLs MaDe oF?_

Emu shruddered.

"Are you alright, Emu?" Takeru asked him

Emu looked at Takeru. Then, he suddenly realised that the card had vanished. And so had the others.

"…this sure is a long corridor." Emu noted.

"This does not even come close to being long." Saber pronounced smugly again. "The walkways in my palace were ten times the length.

"So you had a palace, huh, Saber?" Takeru said. "Impressive. You must be royalty. I'd probably be lost."

"Worry not. Regardless of how great the maze is, we shall never be lost..."

She grabbed onto Emu's hand.

"…for I shall be holding Maestro's hand."

Emu was taken a bit by surprise, but it was a welcome one.

"Thank. However, should we fight-"

"It'd be a bit of a handicap." Rin jumped in. "It's also not so hot for avoiding traps and dealing with ambushes."

Saber puffed out her cheeks. Emu and Takeru chuckled.

* * *

They emerged from the other end to find a pool of water with more raining down from above in a waterfall. On the other side, the field was overgrown with mushrooms. Luckily, there were roots growing across the lake, which the four used to traverse it.

On the other side was a wall of thorny branches and an arch, which led to more of the same behind the walls.

Saber curiously poked a mushroom. It puffed out a bit of smoke. Emu, concerned, went over to Saber to investigate the mushrooms.

Takeru looked around the foot of the walls for clues. Suddenly, he heard rustling behind the thorns. He looked through the arch and saw a girl running around. She turned a corner and disappeared.

"Hey, Emu?"

Emu left Saber and went over to Takeru.

"What is it?"

"I thought I saw a child… I heard rustling, then I saw someone. A little girl."

Emu was confused.

"I didn't hear rustling. It must be one of us."

Takeru was distraught. Then, he thought of something.

"Here, Emu. Hold this."

He took out his Ore Eyecon and gave it to Emu.

Emu held on to it and closed his eyes. Suddenly, he heard rustling as well. He opened his eyes just in time to see the girl disappear again.

"Wha-"

"I know. Should we go after her?"

Emu paused to think.

"One of us should go. Too many would scare her."

Takeru nodded.

"I understand you are a paediatrician, so you have experience with children, right? In that case, you should go. I'll stay behind. The Eyecon should connect us, so just activate it if there is trouble."

Emu nodded. He then slowly walked through the arch.

* * *

As he walked, the atmosphere turned even more surreal. Picture frames hung on the thorns. He swore that his shadow was made out of lace. Or something. He couldn't tell.

After a while, he entered a new area. This time, the walls were covered in white sheets. The picture frames continued to appear, as well as windows that showed more sheets, doors that led nowhere and the like, but now roses of all kinds of art styles were growing on the wall. Some were cartoony. Some were ultra-realistic. He tried to touch one, and when he brought his hands away, it was stained red.

 _Curiouser and Curiouser._

As he walked down the straight path he was on, he noticed a gap in the wall. He went up to it and looked.

It was a small area. There were glass balls suspended on frames with perches, on which owls sat. In the centre was a table, covered in a white sheet, with two chairs at the ends. And on the table…

"Come, come! Let's begin!"

"Wait, are we reading the picture book again?"

It was a young girl. She was wearing a blue dress with white lace and pink ribbons. She had bubblegum pink hair, and on her head was a white hat. She was playing hand puppets with white sheets over her hands, and she was moving her hands as if they were talking to each other.

"Once upon a time…"

"From the start again? I'm bored already!"

Then the hands stopped moving. They turned behind her to look at Emu. Then the girl turned around.

Her eyes were pink.

They both looked at each other for a moment. Emu was processing what to do in his head. Finally, he tentatively asked his first question.

"Umm… who are you?"

The girl sat motionless for a moment. Then her face brightened and she gave a little squeal of joy. She jumped off the table and ran towards Emu, dragging the tablecloth along with her.

"You can see me! You can see me! Right?"

She stopped in front of him and looked up, a smile on her face.

"Your eyes are really following me!" she said, running around Emu to test his eye movements. She returned to the front of him and threw her sheet over her head.

"I'm Alice! I've been playing alone for a very long time!" she continued, running around. Returning once again to her initial position, she threw off her sheet and wrapped it around her shoulder.

"Because most people can't find me!"

"Alone?" Emu asked.

She dropped her sheet, and her form flickered, as if she was glitching out.

"After all, I'm a ghost!" she said.

 _Ah. That explains why Takeru can see her._

At the beginning, he was able to see Takeru while others couldn't. Takeru, after all, was a ghost himself, and yet due to their previous interactions, Emu could see him. Now, however, things were different. Although Emu couldn't see her by himself, Takeru could. He gave Emu the Eyecon to allow him to see as well.

Still, she seemed harmless. Then, Saber's words echoed in his head.

 _Do not let your guard down, Maestro. You never know when we might be ambushed like last time_

"Eh, a cyberghost? I heard they're bad things." Emu said.

Alice, crestfallen, looked down sadly.

"That said, you seem a bit different."

Alice's face brightened again as she looked up.

"You're not afraid?"

Emu smiled.

"Nope."

"You're not going to run away?"

"Nope."

"So does that mean… umm…"

She looked away shyly. Emu took the initiative.

"Do you want to play?"

Her eyes widened even more as she smiled in joy. She held up her hand, palm-side up. Emu placed his on hers.

* * *

The Stratum was very strange, and got stranger the more Emu went deeper into the forest. They were now in the centre of a merry-go-round that had legs. Everything looked 2D.

"If you can find me, you win!" Alice shouted. "You have to stay there until I say it's okay!"

Emu nodded. He had played this kind of game in the hospitals he worked it with some of his younger patients.

With that, Alice ran off into the distance.

"It's been so long since I've played hide-and-seek! I'm not going to hold back!"

And neither was Emu.

* * *

The landscape seemed like putty to Alice. What she willed it to do the world complied. Giant hands picked up sheets which she rolled down. She would fall from the trees she climbed, but it would always be into a glass of water, and even then, she would remain dry. Emu had a hard time keeping up, but he did his best. The strange nature of the Third Stratum defies any sort of description. It would either be an art student's dream or a nightmare, a world from M.C. Escher. Many classic games she knew were played, but eventually the supply ran dry. Emu then taught her about some traditional Japanese ones, as all the ones she knew were Western. Cat's Cradle was one of them, and for that she would break off a branch and turn it into string. Emu wondered how much control she had over this plain, but as soon as he put his thought into it, Alice would always come back to him begging for attention.

Eventually, those ones dried up too, so they sat beneath a tree.

"Are you not a Master?" Emu asked.

"I am a Master. I think I'm different than the others though." Alice replied.

"I don't know what Wizards are. I'm also a ghost. I'm not all that sure why I got this far either. I don't know much about SE RA PH and the Moon Cell."

Emu understood.

"I thought I knew what I wanted to do. I came up here with a plan. But now, I'm not so sure…"

"Then you're just like me!"

Alice turned to Emu.

"Can we be friends?"

Emu smiled.

"Are we not already?"

* * *

"You caught me three times. You're good at these kinds of games."

They were sitting in a teacup. Don't ask.

"I guess I'm sort of used to them. I play these a lot."

"You hang around with children like me?"

Emu nodded.

"I'm good at finding them when they are lost. I think." He said, trailing back to the early days of his doctoring years. Although he was still an intern, he tried endlessly to make kids smile, and it was his job to find them if they ran away.

"That sounds cool." Alice noted.

"But, what about the Nameless Forest?"

Emu turned to look at her, confused.

She jumped up onto the teacup's rim.

"Once you leave me, you'll forget we ever met. Even if you're a great Wizard or a Servant."

Emu bolted up.

"That's my Nameless Forest!" Alice proclaimed.

Emu considered it.

"What is it? Do you know?"

"I don't really know."

"It could this be a Servant's ability. In that case, you should be able to suppress it."

Alice turned to Emu.

"Really?"

Emu smiled.

"It's your choice."

* * *

Back at the table, Alice has invited Emu for tea. They both sat at opposite ends of the table in the chairs that were there.

"By the way, Onii-chan, who are you?" Alice asked.

 _Oh, right. I forgot to introduce myself._

"I'm Hojo Emu." Emu said. "I'm a doctor. A paediatrician, to be precise. That's why I'm so used to playing with children."

Alice's eyes widened in horror.

"A doctor?" she said, a hint of shock in her voice.

For a moment, Emu wondered if she was going to do something, so he reached into his pocket for an Eyecon. Then Alice slumped onto her arms on the table.

"Are you alright, Alice?" Emu asked.

Bumps on the tablecloth were bringing teacups, saucers and plates of cookies around the table. Two dropped a cup of tea and a plate in front of Alice.

"There was a war." Alice spoke quietly.

"Many people died. I was left alone. Alone in the hospital all the time. If I was in the hospital that means I was sick, right? I think so."

Emu grew uneasy.

"It hurt every day. There were all those things that hurt. Nobody really looked at me. The adults did things that hurt all the time. No. Everything they did hurt. It hurt in the morning, the afternoon, the evening, every single day."

As she spoke, Emu's unease grew into abject horror.

"And in the end, I died. Without the sickness being cured. It still hurt even as I died."

Emu covered his mouth in shock.

Alice rolled onto her back on the table.

"Now I'm a ghost, and I'm here!" she said with a smile.

As she spoke, the bumps began dancing on the table while the world span.

"This is Wonderland! There are many wondrous things. Wondrous people and objects. They say it can even fulfil your wishes. Plus, I can eat cookies!"

Emu clenched his hands in anger. He could not forgive the doctors for causing her so much pain. As a doctor who vowed to save lives, he could not forgive how they treated her.

"I do have a wish. Even though I know nothing about this Holy Grail War, I have one…"

She paused.

"I wish that my sickness could be cured. So that I can come back to life."

Emu's eyes welled up with tears. She was so happy despite her suffering. Despite the crimes committed against her.

 _How can I deny her the wish that she has…?_

A bell chimed in the distance and the spinning stopped.

He stood up.

"I'm sorry." Emu spoke quietly.

"I got to go."

He turned to leave.

"Wait!" Alice cried.

Emu stopped.

"Can we play again?" Alice asked, with a pleading look in her eyes.

Emu felt horrible. Did he deserve to?

Holding back tears, he put on a smile and said:

"Sure."

"Promise?"

He nodded.

"Thank goodness!" Alice said.

"But be careful. There's a really scary monster in the castle. It will eat you if it catches you."

* * *

Emu found himself back at the arch.

"Ah, there you are!" Rin said.

Emu turned around.

"We were looking for you, Maestro." Saber said. She held a bunch of mushrooms in her arms.

"We thought you disappeared!" Takeru said.

Emu looked at Takeru in confusion. His memory was hazy.

"There's something I can't quite recall…" Emu murmured.

"Like I met someone… or something."

"Anyways, let's get going." Rin said.

* * *

"This seems to be the centre of the stratum." Rin said.

They were at a gate leading to a spiral staircase upwards.

Rin walked forward and pushed the gate open.

* * *

She suddenly found herself in a large room sitting on a black statue. It seemed to be some kind of horse, as it was on a giant chessboard. In front of her, sitting on a white horse, was another pink-haired girl, but this time in as school uniform.

Misao Amari.

"You're always like this." Amari spoke.

"You're very individualistic and don't consider those around you. You have good judgement, but you're a lone wolf at the core."

Rin looked around.

On the floor, there were bodies of other students. Some were slouched against the walls. Others were lying down.

"What are you trying to suggest?" Rin retorted, returning to Amari.

"You're Amari, right."

"Wow. It's a real honour that a favourite to win the tournament remembered my name." Amari snarked, her voice dripping in sarcasm.

"As you can see, we're all at our limit. Every Master still living seeks refuge in the lower strata."

"What about you?" Rin asked

"I…" Amari said. She gritted her teeth.

"…can't give up yet."

Her eyes narrowed.

"I've sacrificed so much to get here!"

She stood up.

"I cast away everything and came here to win!" She yelled, swinging her arms wide.

"You all did the same, did you?" She continued, addressing the others on the floor.

"You ascended this far because you have a wish to fulfil!"

She stopped for a second, breathing heavily. Then, she steeled herself.

"Hey."

Rin tilted her head.

"Fight me."

A hand gripped the white horse piece and lifted it in the air.

"You don't want to give up either, right?"

"I feel the same way." Rin responded. "However, I won't fight you."

"Are you afraid of losing to me?" Amari taunted.

"Let's see…" Rin started, placing her hands on her chin as if thinking.

"I don't have anything against you, and I admire you maintaining your will to ascend. I wouldn't mind losing to you."

Another hand grabbed the black horse piece and moved it.

"However, you're not a good candidate. You'd just lose the next fight. I won't fight unless I see my opponent as someone who could reach at least the sixth stratum."

Amari's face tightened.

"You're just making up a reason to avoid the fight."

She jumped down.

"I'm disappointed."

She began walking away.

* * *

"Tohsaka?"

Rin blinked. The room was now overgrown with mushrooms like the outside.

"Are you alright?" Takeru asked.

She sighed.

"It's nothing. Let's continue our search. This is the last building."

* * *

As they walked down a hallway in the castle, Takeru noticed to the side a set of modern doors. Separating himself from the group, he went to investigate it. One of the doors had broken off its hinges and fallen to the floor. Above it was a sign, and on it was written the name "Amari Misao".

 _Amari? That name sounds familiar…_

He walked inside.

Inside was a classroom, with the windows showing a view of the stars. There were no desks. Instead, a single bed was placed beside the window. Bottles of wine and packets of cigarettes were strewn all over the floor. On the bed, a pink-haired girl with a brown uniform was sitting, her face in her knees.

Takeru walked forward, but accidentally knocked over a wine bottle. She looked up.

"Who the hell are you?"

Takeru held up his hands.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I'm Tenkuji Takeru. Emu's friend."

"I don't remember you." she responded spitefully.

"You haven't met me."

She stared at Takeru incredulously for a moment. Takeru readied himself for a fight. However, she sighed and lowered her head again.

Takeru stepped forward, being careful not to dislodge the bottles.

"If you don't mind me asking... what's wrong?" Takeru asked tentatively.

Amari was silent for a moment. Then she began to speak.

"I hate… my name… 'Amari' means something unwanted. That's what it sounds like in Japanese. I didn't want people to make fun of me for it. I didn't want to become like mom. She failed to be part of the elite and gave birth to me after some big wig knocked her up."

She lay backwards, still covering her eyes with her arms.

"Unwanted. A laughing stock. I don't want that, no matter what! I wanted to be one of the laughers…"

She raised her arms

"…not the one who gets laughed at."

Takeru got the gist of what she was saying.

"You wanted to be someone important? Like a Heroic Spirit?"

"Sounds stupid, doesn't it?"

She had poured herself a glass of wine and was swirling it in her hand.

"For that reason, with that motive…"

She drunk down the wine in one gulp.

"I abandoned my family. I did whatever was necessary. I'm no genius, but I know how to win."

Her smile was bitter.

"To defeat someone stronger, you have to use someone weaker. Reality, SE RA PH, it's all the same. In both the preliminaries and the first two rounds, I started by surveying those around me, then found someone weaker than me and used them."

"I guess that's why you were with Shinji." Takeru noted. "You did make a cute couple together."

Amari smirked.

"That's funny."

She sat up.

"I'm no genius, but I've always believed that I'm well above average. And yet, when I came here and looked around, I wanted to cry. There wasn't a single person weaker than me!"

Takeru sighed.

"You can't always go about life using people. You need to start giving as well as taking. If you can't find a single person, why can't you ally with-"

"I can't." Amari snapped. Then she turned away.

"I can't run away. I have to fight. There's no other choice. There's no one left." She said softly.

"Hey. Why do you want to ascend?"

Takeru considered this for a moment. Then, he answered.

"At first, my main objective was escaping this place. I didn't know how I got here, and I wanted to leave as quickly as possible. However, after seeing what has happened here, I just can't leave the Moon Cell in this state. I guess my new goal is to save the Moon Cell. And all the souls in it."

Amari scoffed.

"Idealistic, huh? I guess we just can't get along. Still, perhaps that's why we never met, huh?"

* * *

"Say, don't you find this castle – or rather, this whole stratum, weird?" Rin asked.

Takeru realised that he was back in the large room. The other three were there as well.

"Yeah." Emu replied.

Takeru nodded. "I was just thinking the same thing."

"It's all so fluffy." Saber said, holding a mushroom.

"As well as that, my sense of time is off. Sometimes one minutes feel like ten. Sometimes the opposite is true."

"You also see strange visions…" Takeru added.

Saber was about to eat one of the mushrooms, but stopped. "What sort of visions?"

"I saw some too." Rin said. "Of a past I never wanted to see again."

 _Memories?_

Takeru thought for a second.

 _I don't remember meeting that girl in person. Perhaps I entered someone else's. But whose?_

"Hey, Maestro. Come take a look at this."

Takeru was snapped out of his thoughts by Saber calling them over to a wall.

The wall was darker, and lacked the mushrooms the others had. There were slash marks on the wall, as well as a splash of blood on the wall.

"There's no dust here."

Rin touched the marks. Suddenly she recoiled in horror.

"Crap, I forgot!"

She turned to the others.

"This is what the Third Stratum was always like. It's the reason why people fled to the Lower Strata."

As she spoke, the castle started vibrating.

"In the Third Stratum, there was a-"

She was cut off by a horrendous screech. Saber materialised her sword rapidly and turned around.

In front of them was a massive orange monster.

It was tall and rather thin, with a long neck and a drooping head. The body had the appearance of having a sheet wrapped around it, and there were cords wrapped around its body. On its back were two orange feathered wings, and behind it was a tail with small bobbles on them.

Emu's eyes widened.

 _A Bugster Union!?_

"We don't know its abilities!" Takeru yelled, as he materialised his Driver. "Be careful!"

He took out his Robin Hood Eyecon and activated it. Then, he placed it in his driver, closed it and pulled out the lever.

 **EYE!**

 **BATCHIRIMINA! BATCHIRIMINA!**

The Robin Hood flew out of the Ghost Driver. It was green, with yellow trimmings and a yellow feather in its cap.

Takeru slammed the lever into the Driver and ran forward.

 **KAIGAN! ROBIN HOOD!**

 **HELLO! ARROW! MOURI DE AO!**

The Transient Armour formed on Ghost's body, and the Damashii landed on the armour. His Gan Gan Saber flew out of his driver along with a condor-like robot, and they combined to form the Gan Gan Saber Arrow Mode.

Saber ran forwards as well, joining Ghost in his assault.

Emu took out his Gamer Driver, and, slamming his Mighty Action X gashat into the Driver, yelled "Henshin!"

 **GASHATTO!**

The Character select screen appeared spinning around him. He reached out his arm and touched the one with his character on it.

 **LET'S GAME! METCHA GAME! MUTCHA GAME! WHAT'S YOUR NAME?!**

The Character icon went backwards into Emu as his body glowed with a pink light.

 **I'M A KAMEN RIDER!**

He had become Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Action Gamer Level 1.

The Bugster Union turned and fled.

"You dare to run!?" Saber shouted. She jumped and ran along the walls, before leaping off towards the monster, her sword primed for a slash.

The monster reared its head and roared. From its wings grew branches, out of which it launched a barrage of orange scissors at Saber.

Ex-Aid jumped up and deflected the scissors with a swing of his Gashacon Breaker. Then, he brought it down on the Monster's head. A "Hit" effect appeared at the impact. He jumped back and hit the Bugster Union at different parts of his body.

With the monster distracted, Saber came down on its head with a slash. The Monster recoiled from the attacks and floundered around.

"Now! Finish it!" Emu yelled

Ghost brought the eye of his Gan Gan Saber close to his Driver.

 **DAI KAIGAN!**

 **GAN GAN MINA! GAN GAN MINA!**

The condor head glowed as Ghost pulled back on bowstrings of light. He pulled the trigger.

 **OMEGA STRIKE!**

An energised arrow shot out of the weapon straight towards the Monster. It pierced it straight in its chest.

The monster gave out a horrible scream of pain.

Saber then slashed it in half.

Out of the wound flew out knives and what looked like bandaged doll parts. The upper half floundered in its descent.

Suddenly, the area flickered.

Then the four found themselves back at the place where the elevator had landed.

"What?"

Everyone looked around in confusion. Takeru and Emu cancelled their transformations.

"What's going on?"

Then Rin saw the clock in the distance and gasped.

It showed 6:00.

"That's the same time as when we got off the Ladder!" Takeru cried.

"An entire day could not have passed! I do not recall having dinner or sleep!" Saber exclaimed.

"Come to think of it... did we even leave the castle?" Emu asked.

Rin thought for a moment.

"I see. So that's how it is. If the monster is defeated, it turns back time to morning."

Then she turned to the others

"There was a Servant with that kind of Noble Phantasm. She can reread the story forever until it turns out how she wants. That Servant is…"

Then Emu understood.

 _Of course._

 _The castle. The spiky trees. The pillow-like floor. The art style._

 _This is all like it's out of a..._

"...Nursery Rhyme."


	14. Chapter 11: Questions

Chapter 11: Questions

The four re-entered the front door of the dress-like structure.

"We have to beat that thing." Emu said.

"Indeed. I was about to say just that." Saber agreed.

They progressed down the same hallway that they passed through. It was no less strange than the last time.

"Based on what we've seen, that monster must be the Floor Master's Servant." Rin noted. "We can probably assume that it ate the rest of the Masters who stayed on the third floor."

"To think that there would be a monster that consumes people in order to repeat such a show." Saber said.

"If we take one's entire life as a performance, then the accumulation of one's habitual efforts amount to the preparations for that show." Saber went on. "Perhaps one might stumble at a critical scene or performance, but doing it over is fundamentally impossible. Even if one were to stand upon an identical stage, to expect the exact same results would be folly."

Takeru nodded his head.

"I see. Though I guess that monster doesn't really count, as it can just reset time, so it can continue to do the exact same thing over and over again. Normally, life is supposed to burn brightly once, but I guess I am an exception-"

"What a roundabout example." Rin cut in.

Saber tilted her head. "Was it?"

"Takeru is right. The rules of living don't really apply to it, as it has the power to loop time. Though it's not really a loop. More of a Reset."

 _Reset._

Emu remembered that word. He had similar experiences in the past.

"We retained our memories from that loop. Only time rewound. If that's the case, then it would be the same for our foe."

Rin smiled.

"They'll try much harder to kill us the next time, then." She said.

"But how do we defeat it?" Takeru asked. "If we beat it, it will just rewind time."

 _If only we had a Save energy item._ Emu thought. But he doubted that this world would have an Energy Item like that. In that case, he would have to try other ways.

"Well, if there is a Servant, then there should be a Master." Emu said.

Rin nodded her head.

"That's correct. Therefore, we should split up. Search for any clues as the where the Master is."

As they were about to set out on their separate ways, Emu went over to Takeru and returned his Ore Eyecon to him.

"Hey, Takeru. For some reason, I have your Eyecon. Should I give it back to you?"

Takeru hesitated before pushing the Eyecon gently back to Emu.

"I must have given it to you for a reason. You keep it for now. I have a feeling that you'll need it."

Emu gave his thanks and set off to investigate.

Emu came across an abandoned campsite. There were empty crates and shelves covered in dust. On a mouldy table was a wooden cup. Emu picked it up to look at it.

 _There were Masters who fled back to the first floor. There must have also been people who couldn't flee…_

Unnerved by the thought, Emu put down the cup.

 _For the sake of their wishes, they stayed here and fought that monster._

 _But what about me…?_

He turned to look at a mirror. His reflection stared back at him grimly.

 _My wish…_

The more he thought about it, the more his head grew fuzzy. He knew that he came here for a reason, but all those other desires of his-

 _No. Ours._

He shook his head. Then he reopened his eyes

 _Ah, that's right. Uncontrollable hatred. That's who I've become-_

 _No, wait!_

For a moment, he thought he saw a glint of purple in his reflection's eyes. Then it vanished as quickly as it came.

 _Well, there's nothing here. I should go back._

* * *

"To return to our earlier topic, I really do like ghosts."

They had met up again with very little to report, so they were continuing on the path they were on before. Rin was talking along the way.

"They're similar to Dead Faces, but not identical."

 _There it is again._

The words had been bothering Emu since she first said them when they arrived at the floor.

"If you had to compare Dead Faces to something, they're more like zombies." Rin continued. "Driven by negative emotions… numerically speaking, they should be zeroes, but they're unpredictable. Variable."

 _Zombies…_

He touches his Dangerous Zombie gashat in his pocket again.

 _How appropriate._

"…but they're just rumours, right?" Takeru asked tentatively.

"Well, yes." Rin answered, giving a sly smile.

Emu shruddered

"They say they can't create anything." Rin returned to her ralk. "They simply exist to despise the living."

Emu was uneasy.

"Where do they come from?" Emu asked nervously

"Well, after someone dies once, they get rebooted by their grudges. They're corpses."

 _Rebooted, huh?_

"They say it varies from case to case, though. Those who died too much while they were still alive, the dead living, those that started moving around despite not being alive, the living dead…"

 _Dan…_

He remembered his former enemy. The descriptions Rin gave fitted him very well. It was him who used the Dangerous Zombie gashat.

Why could he use it, though…?

"Sounds complicated." Takeru cut in.

"The two types seem pretty different to me, but neither kind have any future." Rin continued.

"They can never return to how they were before, nor can they die and move on.

They simply loiter, stuck in place, stuck in time.

Ever vengeful. Ever reminiscing.

Until eventually, they lose everything that they used to be…"

* * *

"You like books, don't you?"

Emu was sitting in a teacup with Alice, who had a book open. Slotted between two pages was a blue bookmark.

"Yeah, I do! Until Onii-chan showed up, the books were my only friends!" Alice replied.

She turned a page.

"The books were the only ones kind to me."

She turned a page again.

"What a sad story." Emu commented.

"You know, children's fairy tales are often sad." Alice said.

Then she giggled.

"But Alice doesn't mind."

The pages of the book flipped backwards rapidly.

"After all, if something sad happens, you can always just go back to the first page."

Emu's head hurt a bit.

The flipping stopped at the page with the blue bookmark.

"See?" Alice asked, addressing Emu.

Emu laughed a bit and smiled.

"Yeah, you're right."

He then turned to Alice.

"I'm not very good, but would you like me to read it to you?"

Alice's face brightened and she smiled widely.

"Yeah!"

* * *

Back at the tea table, Emu had Alice on his lap as he read the book to her from the beginning. He felt a familiar sensation when he did this.

 _Ah, my doctoring days…_

He recalled when he would do this to the other kids in the hospital. Every time he did this, he would always feel a warm feeling in his heart, and this time was no different.

 _It's nice to get away from everything._

"…and they all lived happily ever after." Emu finished the story.

Alice was surprised.

"It had a happy ending!"

"Yeah."

"Was that really how that story went?"

Then she smiled.

"But it was really fun!"

Then, Emu asked a question that was in his mind for a while.

"Why do you stay here?"

Alice looked up at Emu with a quizzical look.

"Why do you ascend?" she asked back.

Emu was taken aback. Alice's pink eyes pierced him with their gaze.

He sighed.

He opened his mouth to respond, then stopped. He tried to get the words out of his mouth, but he couldn't.

 _I… can't give a definitive answer anymore._

His mind ached. He shut his eyes for a moment until the pain subsided. Then he opened his eyes.

"Oh, how splendid!" Alice replied.

 _Eh?_

 _Did I say something?_

Alice shut the book and stood up, turning to look at Emu. She leant forward and put her hands of Emu's shoulders.

"Let's play tag, ok? You're it!"

She jumped off his lap and ran off into the distance.

Emu, still confused, obliged. He covered his eyes with his hands.

 _One…. Two… Three…_

"How long do you intend to keep quiet?"

Emu peeked through his hands. On the other side of the table was Amari.

"That girl's your opponent, isn't she? She's the enemy Master. It's her you have to beat.

It doesn't matter how much fun you have with her. How much you play with her. How much you befriend her.

In the end, one of you is going to have to end up killing the other."

Emu wondered what she was talking about. Then, a searing pain flashed through his mind.

He yelled and grasped his head, shutting his eyes tightly.

Images flashed through his mind, as if they were being fast-forwarded.

 _We remember._

The first time he came to this place.

The first meeting he had with Alice.

The fun times they had.

Then, her story.

She didn't deserve to be here.

She didn't deserve to die.

"You're too naïve. You can only ascend by trampling the weak. Isn't that how you got here?" Amari continued.

Emu stood up.

"Amari."

He turned to her.

"Thank you. For reminding me."

Amari's expression remained cold.

"But if I kill her…"

He clenched his fists. Tears welled up in his eyes.

"I can never call myself a doctor ever again."

* * *

Rin, Takeru and Saber turned around. They saw Emu walking back to them, a determined look on his face.

"Maestro, why must you keep wandering off on your own?" Saber demanded.

Emu ignored her.

"Saber, you took part in a Holy Grail War, right?"

Saber tilted her head, then puffed out her chest with a smug smile.

"Umu!"

"Then tell me something. Was there ever anyone who managed to ascend without killing their opponent?"

Rin and Saber were taken aback.

"What?"

Then Saber piped up.

"Indeed. There was."

"There was?!" Rin turned to Saber in shock.

"It's extremely rare, mind you." Saber continued.

"If one's opponent abandons the fight, they win by default. In that case, the one who abandoned the fight-"

Suddenly, a wall exploded in front of them, and out stormed the Bugster Union. It had grown bigger since the last time they saw it, and it had even more appendages then before.

Saber, ever quick, whipped out her sword.

"There's no point fighting it! We have to find its Master!" Rin shouted.

The Union roared, and orange branches grew out of its sides. From those branches, scissors grew like leaves.

 _This is bad!_

Before Emu could even take out his Driver, the Union launched a volley of scissors right at him.

"Maestro!"

Saber ran in front of Emu, lifting her sword to block the scissors.

A flurry of scissors then approached Emu from another direction.

Rin ran and materialised multiple layers of green code to block them. The scissors bounced off them, but there was no end to the onslaught.

Takeru tried transforming into Robin Hood Damashii, but could barely take the Eyecon out before it was struck out of his hand by a scissor. Then, the rest of the scissors cut him to pieces.

Rin maintained her defensive stance, but it was clear that it was too much to her. Cracks formed on the wall, then it burst, the walls breaking one by one until the scissors reached Rin and ripped her to shreds.

 _Rin!_

His eyes glowed purple. His left hand blazed red.

Emu opened his eyes.

 _Where am I now?_

 _Is this… them again?_

He vaguely remembered the monster. The attack. The deaths.

"You wish to save that girl, then?"

A female voice.

 _Whose was it?_

A door materialised into view.

"Very well. I shall show you the truth." The voice said.

"The truth that the girl hid from you all this time."

The sign on the door clicked.

It now read

 _Open_


	15. Chapter 12: Answers

Chapter 12: Answers

Emu entered a large white circular room. The left and right walls were made of glass, and a silver lining the shape of plaited hair separated the window from the wall. On the back wall were bookshelves lined with books of all shapes and sizes. In the centre of that wall was a large crimson section with a pattern sewn into it.

There was only one other thing in that room.

A hospital bed.

A heavily bandaged body was lying in the centre, its bandages soaked in blood. Colourful IVs were attached to the body. There were so many of them. The most shocking thing was that it was almost transparent, its form flickering.

He approached the bed slowly and went to its side. He bent down, reaching out to move the blanket.

"Welcome, Emu Hojo."

Emu whipped around.

In front of him stood Amari Misao.

"Amari-san… what are you-"

Then Amari's form flickered as well, and in her place stood a little girl wearing a black Victorian Dress. She looked identical to-

"…Alice?" Emu asked.

The girl shook her head.

"I am Alice. Alice is me."

Emu was confused.

 _Wait… that phrasing._

"However. I am not Alice."

She walked over to the bedside.

"What do you mean?" Emu asked.

She held the body's bandaged hand.

"I am a fleeting dream. The "Alice" in the mirror. A child's fantasy. You would call me a…"

She turned around to look at Emu.

"…Nursery Rhyme, I guess."

Emu's eyes widened.

 _This is bad._

He reached inside his doctor's coat to grab his Driver, but he couldn't find it there. Desperately, he searched all his pockets.

 _The Gashats. The Driver. Where are they?_

He could only find the Eyecon that Takeru gave him. He took it out and was about to activate it.

"Calm yourself. I mean no harm."

Emu stopped. He turned to her.

"What do you want? If you're controlling the monster attacking us, then-"

"Are you sure about that?"

 _Huh?_

"If I wanted to kill you, then wouldn't I have done so already?"

 _But… you…_

"Please. Listen to what I have to say."

Emu calmed down and returned to his normal stance.

"The Alice you met in the garden was fake. You never met Alice. You only met an illusion. A memory." Nursery Rhyme began.

 _Huh?_

Emu rifled through his mind. He was sure that they had met. Right?

Then he remembered what Takeru said.

 _You also see strange visions._

"That… was a memory?"

Nursery Rhyme nodded.

"This place is my Noble Phantasm: the Nameless Forest. It's where ghosts and memories dwell. As well as that, your own memories leech out of your mind. You lose track of things."

 _Ah, so that's why this place was so confusing._

"Perhaps the memory of the Master that met Alice resonated with you. You started experiencing it in his stead. You walked in his shoes."

Emu looked at the Eyecon.

"My friend… he was the first to notice her…"

Nursery Rhyme looked at the Eyecon. She seemed to recognise it.

"I see. Your friend can see what others can't see. He deemed you the one who most resonated with that memory, did he not?"

Emu recalled what Takeru told him.

 _You're a paediatrician, so you have experience with children, right?_

Emu clutched the Eyecon.

"Anyways, why did you bring me here?"

Nursery Rhyme turned to the body.

"I trust that you know that Alice died, right?"

Emu nodded. He remembered from their first encounter what she said.

"Alice is dead. That's a fact. Normally, a Master is supposed to support his Servant's existence, but I guess in this case, it's the reverse. I manifest as her companion, her lifeline. I allowed her to exist here. Through something you're quite familiar with."

 _The Bugster Virus._

Something that stored the data of someone, so even after death, they could come back.

"But if she exists as a Bugster, then where's her-"

Then he realised.

"That body-"

"Correct." Nursery Rhyme affirmed. "This is her true self."

 _Now the transparency of the body made sense._

Every Bugster needs a host to manifest. In this case, Alice's former body must have been the host of the virus, and the Bugster must be an exact copy of hers.

"But if her body's here, then… where is she now?

Nursery Rhyme did not respond. Instead, she went over to the bookshelf and picked out a book. She opened it and turned to face Emu.

"Do you want to hear a story?"

Emu's vision darkened, and he sunk into the darkness.

* * *

The Golden Circle formed in the sky.

A young girl, in a blue dress, was looking up.

"Onii-chan…"

She gripped her dress.

Her form flickered.

Then, she heard voices from afar.

"The Upper floors are done for."

She turned.

Behind a sheet, two strangers were talking.

"The fourth floor aside, everything from the fifth up is…"

"Should we descend?"

"It's worth considering."

Alice walked over to the figures.

"Umm…"

She stopped just before the sheet.

"What are you talking about?"

The two figures did not respond.

"What's wrong up there?"

Still no response.

"What happened to the Holy Grail War… What happened to Onii-chan? What's that thing up in the sky?"

She looked around.

"What's going on?"

* * *

Alice wandered throughout the Third Floor, looking for others to talk to. She passed through multiple hallways and passages in the castle, searching for signs of life.

She emerged into a large room with a chessboard design on the floor.

"As you can see, we're the only ones left."

Alice heard more voices. This time, they were female.

She walked onto the middle of the board.

At the sides, many large chess pieces were strewn all over the place. The only remaining pieces on the board was a white Knight piece and a black Knight piece. On the white Knight piece stood a pink-haired girl in a brown uniform.

"The rest of the surviving Masters are fleeing to the lower floors." She continued.

On the black Knight piece sat another girl with twintails and a red sweater.

"What's your plan?" she asked.

"I can't give up, not now." The pink haired girl continued.

Alice looked at both of them, trying to get their attention.

"I don't care about winning," she started in a timid voice. "So please, tell me… where is Onii-chan?"

The two girls continued their conversation, ignoring her.

"Please, just fight me. You don't want to stay down here either, do you? You're scared you'll lose to me!?" The pink haired girl shouted.

Alice realised it was futile. Slowly, she turned and walked out of the room.

* * *

She sat underneath the clock outside the Castle. As she sobbed in her hands, she noticed that she was turning transparent.

"Huh?"

Her form flickered again.

"I look… kind of pale…

Am I going to… disappear?"

She looked up.

"Is it because of that ring?"

She started crying.

"Onii-chan… I want to see you!"

As she continued her wandering, she felt herself growing more and more transparent. Her vision became blurred, and her breathing became ragged.

"I don't want to disappear."

She looked behind her and saw that she left a trail of orange mist in the air. Terrified, she hurried forward.

"I have to… replenish my resources."

She came across a campsite. Frantically, she put her hands on various items. They all turned to orange dust on her touch. The orange mist wafted into Alice's body, reducing her transparency slightly.

"I… want to stay here."

* * *

She encountered the pink-haired girl again, sleeping on a log. In her hand was a bottle of wine, half-drunk. Alice touched it, and it turned to orange mist. It was absorbed by Alice, as did the orange mist from other items she had converted in the room.

"I… have to wait here."

Her form continued to glitch out.

* * *

"It's not enough…"

Alice limped through the forest clutching her heart. Her form glitched out even more. Every step was painful, but she knew she had to keep going. The flow of orange mist out of her increased.

"I'm going… to disappear…"

Suddenly, she felt herself falling forward. She gave out a gasp.

She held out her arm against a tree to steady herself.

As she put her back against the tree, she started panting.

"Sugar… and spice.. and everything nice…" she started reciting in a strained voice. "That's what… little girls are… made of…"

The tree behind her glowed, then burst in a cloud of orange mist.

* * *

As Alice continued through the forest, she kept turning trees into mist.

Finally, she stopped in a clearing and looked at her hand. It looked solid again.

Alice stopped panting and looked at it in confusion.

Suddenly, her forearm transformed into a tree branch.

Alice recoiled in horror. Clutching the arm, she hugged it tightly.

"No!" She yelled. She fell to her knees.

"I don't… want this…"

Her form flickered again. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"Onii-chan!"

As the tear fell from her eye, it vanished into orange mist.

* * *

"It hurts."

Alice kept walking.

"It hurts. It hurts. It hurts."

She kept going.

"Am I… going to disappear?

But… I promised him…"

Light shone at the end of the tunnel.

"Onii-chan!"

* * *

Standing outside the castle were four Masters. Included in their ranks was Amari.

They heard a noise. They turned around.

Their faces turned to horror.

 _Can you… see me?_

Standing in front of them was an orange monster. It had a long neck with a twin-tailed head hanging down. From her left arm protruded a tree branch, on which grew spherical heads with gnashing teeth.

The head started to sing.

 _Ring a ring a rosey_

 _A pocket full of posies_

 _Atishoo, atishoo_

 _We all fall down._

"Get it!" One of the Masters yelled.

He took out a ring and scanned it on his belt.

CHANGE! NOW!

An Orange wizard circle appeared to the right of his head. It passed through his body, encasing it in an orange armour.

He ran forward, brandishing his claw.

The others did the same, and, taking out strange gun-sword weapons, started firing at the monster.

 _Stop it… stop it…_

 _STOP IT!_

Her left arm grew outwards, and branches shot out of it.

Before the advancing one could react, he had been skewered in the chest by a tree branch. The armour vanished around him, exposing his body.

Then, a head flew towards him and devoured his upper body, leaving behind his legs.

As the others tried to run, the heads started to sing again.

 _Picking up the daisies_

 _Picking up the daisies_

 _Atishoo, atishoo_

 _We all jump up._

More heads flew out of the branches, attacking the remaining three. The pink-haired one managed to escape, but the other two weren't so lucky.

Once was impaled by multiple branches. As his blood began to flow, the heads slurped it up delightfully.

The heads tore the other one apart.

The entire area was soaked with blood.

* * *

Alice stood in the middle of the carnage.

"I promised…"

Then she tilted her head.

"What did I promise, again?"

* * *

The monster dragged itself up the stairs on its many feet. Its head swung about floppily as it moved. The sheet that wrapped around its body fluttered in the air. Its wings drooped on its back, and its tail twitched behind it, the bobbles dancing.

 _You probably won't be able to tell, now that I look like this…_

 _But I've been waiting for you._

 _So please._

 _Don't leave me._

 _Don't leave me alone._

* * *

Emu opened his eyes. He was back in the hospital room where Alice lay. Nursery Rhyme was staring at him, a book open in her hands.

 _What… was that?_

Then it clicked.

"No…

No, no, no…."

He buried his head in his hands.

"Then… all this time… she was…"

Nursery Rhyme nodded her head.

Emu ran up to her and grabbed her by her shoulders.

"Why didn't you do anything?!" He shouted. "Why did you let her become like this?"

"It was her wish." She replied, unperturbed. "It was what she wanted."

He let go.

"I couldn't save her. All I could do was maintain her fantasy."

Emu stared at her.

"When Chakravartin struck, the entire Moon Cell descended into chaos. I tried to help her maintain her form by supplying her with more data. I didn't know…"

She turned away, hanging her head.

"I didn't know… it would turn out this way…"

Emu was still unconvinced.

"Then… why did she have your power… to turn back time?"

"She wanted it."

She turned back to Emu.

"She didn't want to die! But after so many came after her, she..."

She went silent for a while.

"She wanted to remain here until her Onii-chan came back. My second Noble Phantasm, the Queen's Glass Game… I tried to use it to save her. To give her hope. If I didn't…"

 _She'd be dead already._

He understood immediately.

"However, I used it too much. Eventually… she absorbed it. I can't control it anymore. She took it for herself."

Emu stood still for a moment.

"Is there any other way?"

"For you to ascend? No."

Nursery Rhyme looked forlorn as she said this.

"Her Onii-chan managed to ascend by convincing her to forfeit the match. It was what she wanted. He made that promise to return to her, as you saw. Now… she doesn't recognise anyone. All she does is keep on walking. Killing. Rewinding. She's in constant misery and pain, waiting forever for her Onii-chan. There's only one way to end her suffering."

Emu realised what she was saying. His voice caught in his throat. He could not say it.

"I… can't… I vowed to…"

Tears welled up in Emu's eyes.

"But… after what she's gone through… the injustice wrought onto her by the doctors... those bastards… the endless days of pain…"

He grasped his head with his hands.

"Then… even after death… she can't do anything but wander… an eternal hell for her after her suffering…"

Then Emu raised his head and shouted

"Why can't I do anything!? Why does she need to die!?"

He looked at Nursery Rhyme.

"I need to correct this wrong! I need to give her the peace she deserves! As a doctor, I can't just…"

He stopped, looking for the right word.

Nursery Rhyme watched.

Finally, he finished his sentence.

"...kill her."

Then he broke down. He buried his face in the bed next to the body of Alice and cried.

 _Yes. There's no other way._

They came back.

 _You must kill her. For the sake of the greater good._

 _No…_

 _You've killed before. What's another one to you?_

 _No… One was a traitor. Another shot my friend. I needed to kill them. But her…?_

 _You're too soft. Naïve. Amari was right. You need to survive here. Those who don't kill won't survive._

 _She's nothing but a wraith. A ghost._

 _Shut up... Shut up…_

Nursery Rhyme sighed.

"I understand."

She walked over to him and patted him on his back. Emu snapped out of his thoughts.

"You know, there was someone like you there back when Alice was alive."

Emu looked up, his eyes tearful.

"There was a young doctor. Unlike the older ones, who only saw her as an experiment, that doctor genuinely cared. Like you, he would often play with her, despite her condition. He was the one who taught all those games to her."

Emu turned to meet her gaze.

"He would often complain about the pain she felt during procedures. However, those complaints fell into deaf ears. And when she died, he spent hours crying next to her. He regretted not being able to do more to help her. However, he eventually managed to cheer himself up. Do you know how?"

Emu shook his head.

"Alice suffered in life. But in death, she could finally rest peacefully in paradise. That's what he thought. And even though she's suffering here, he knew that one day, she would find peace."

She went back to the bookshelves.

"Even here, her Onii-chan gave her joy when others ignored her. He saw her more than just the enemy Master, but someone to play with. However, even he had to go. He knew that he had a journey to complete. He hoped that he could reunite with her, and give her all the happiness she deserved."

She took down another book. It was orange and cyan.

"You know, fairy tales aren't stories of hope. They are the last lights softening the despair of living… I used to think that was who I was. But right now, that's who you need to be."

She gave him the book.

"I am Alice, and Alice is me."

The book glowed in Emu's hand, and turned into a cyan and orange Gashat.

Surprised, Emu raised it.

"This is-"

"You can't save her." Nursery Rhyme repeated.

"However, if you can let your feelings reach her…"

She smiled.

"Then, at this moment, you can become her Onii-chan for her once more."


	16. Chapter 13: Completion

Chapter 13: Completion

"Emu, are you alright?"

Emu opened his eyes.

He was standing outside the elevator from the beginning again, with Rin, Takeru and Saber looking at him weirdly.

Rin had changed clothes. She was now wearing blue denim shorts and a single red top which exposed her midriff. Emu felt uncomfortable with her showing that much skin, but he knew that he wasn't in a position to complain.

Takeru waved his hand in front of Emu's face. Emu blinked.

"Ah, sorry. I was just a little distracted…"

Saber tilted her head quizzically.

"Are you sure, Maestro? You were just standing there with your eyes open. It was kind of strange…"

Rin shrugged.

"Well, you're back with us now. We should probably move. Let's make this the last time, okay?"

She turned to walk towards the castle again.

The others followed her.

As they walked, Saber ran to Emu's side.

"Your Command Seal use there was splendid. Was that Agility Enhancement?"

Emu's memory was fuzzy, but he recalled being attacked by that creature again.

 _But didn't it overpower us at that time…?_

He looked down at his left hand. Another third of the Command Seal had gone, leaving one third of it remaining on his hands.

"Yeah…" He responded, unsure.

Saber smiled.

"It's thanks to you that we were able to get out of that predicament."

"Um… no… no need to thank me." Emu stammered. "I mean, you're the one who actually landed the blow that let us reset."

"That may be, but it matters not!" Saber exclaimed, bringing her face close to Emu's.

Emu nodded, laughing nervously.

"Anyways, Rin," She continued, turning to her. "There's still the matter of that Noble Phantasm…"

"It'll be fine as long as we don't let them use it, right?" Rin responded. Then she muttered.

"I'd rather not have to use my trump card, though…"

"Searching for the Master seems more reliable…" Emu suggested. He didn't know why, but he had a hunch. Besides, something from that dream he had still stuck with him, but he didn't know what.

 _What was I… dreaming about?_

"True that." Rin agreed. "If we can find them, that is."

"I haven't seen a single soul on this floor." Takeru noted. "All the people we've seen were just memories. I could sense that they weren't real. Just visions. Where would the Master be anyways?"

Then, Emu felt something in his pocket.

 _Huh? That wasn't there before…_

He reached inside it and felt around.

Suddenly, his hand touched something. It was like the other Gashats, but thicker. He pulled it out.

It was a black Double Gashat.

 _This Gashat-_

His eyes suddenly flared purple. In his mind, a single image flashed through his mind.

A book.

One that he had seen before.

One whose story was never allowed to end.

And what he had to do was-

"Emu?"

He blinked. His vision returned to normal.

"What's that?" Saber asked, pointing at the black Gashat in his hand.

Emu looked ahead to the castle.

"I think… I know where to go."

* * *

As they continued walking though the path they took previously, Emu mulled over his thoughts. It was as if he was thinking, and yet he wasn't doing the thinking.

 _Cyberghosts are the dreams of the dead. Just like this floor. Just like us._

 _We never had a past here. Both us and this place are barely living now._

 _We don't have a past, and this place is nothing but the past._

 _Alike in premise, yet fundamental opposites._

Takeru noticed Emu's distressed look and went over to him.

"Hey, Emu. I've noticed that you've been rather down during our time here. What's wrong?"

Emu looked at Takeru. He raised his hand to his chest and gripped it.

"Hatred."

"Huh?" Takeru was taken aback.

"Hatred… it's fundamentally an obsession with the past. Ever since I got here, I felt a growing hatred inside me. I can't comprehend it at all."

Takeru was concerned.

"But.. you're not one to feel hatred, aren't you? Aren't you supposed to be a doctor who loves all life?"

Emu nodded grimly.

"But now… I can feel it. I hate anything and everything. It goes against my being, and yet it feels like my being as well. This place…"

They entered through the doors that they entered before at the foot of the dress-like structure.

"The past is piled up in this place. So much so that it chokes out the present…"

"Just like you, right?" Takeru completed for Emu.

Emu nodded again.

Takeru patted Emu on the shoulder.

"Even if you end up as a hate-filled monster, don't worry. We're here to help. We'll fight together until we complete this game. After all, that's our goal, right?"

Emu didn't respond.

"Right?"

 _Is that the only reason?_

Emu could not be sure anymore.

"I don't know. I've always been able to see how the story would go, but I can't see where we would end up. Even if we reach the top, who knows if that would be the end?"

He sighed.

"I don't know how to finish this…"

"Then allow me to speak of the past." Saber butted in. She had been overhearing their conversation and wanted to add her part to the story.

"Once there was a Master much like you, who knew not of themselves. They possessed nothing but a name. They had no memories, not so much as a wish for the Holy Grail. It wasn't you, but another person entirely."

They reached the mushroom-filled area on the other side of the hallway, with the lake of water.

"They were a frail person, aiming to ascend out of nothing but a fervent desire to survive. Struggling against their own frailty, they fought their way to the seventh floor. Then, at the Angelica Cage, they were defeated by Twice H. Pieceman."

 _Twice?_

Emu vaguely recalled that name.

"It's said that if you reach the Angelica Cage, you will find the Holy Grail and have your wish granted. But even assuming you defeat Twice, who's to say whether the Moon Cell will even grant your wish?"

"Well, there isn't any guarantee, certainly." Rin added.

"I ask of thee, then, Maestro." Saber concluded. "Do you still wish to ascend? Despite the uncertainty of your wish?

Do you wish to complete this story?"

* * *

Emu blinked.

He found himself in the forest again.

 _Is this… another vision…?_

He looked around.

 _I was talking to Saber, when…_

Her last words resonated in his mind.

 _Do you wish to complete this story?_

Suddenly, he noticed a glow below him. He looked down.

It was Takeru's Eyecon.

 _Huh? How did it get there…?_

He reached down to pick it up.

Suddenly, memories flooded into his mind.

He remembered arriving at the Floor. He remembered fighting the monster that haunted the Castle. He remembered the days rewinding, and the second encounter. He remembered meeting Nursery Rhyme and seeing Alice's true body.

In addition, he remembered his times with Alice. Meeting her. Playing with her. Having tea. Hearing her story. Despite them being only visions, they felt very real to Emu, and his heart warmed.

However, he noticed that the memories with Alice were incomplete.

He recalled Nursery Rhyme's words.

 _If you can let your feelings reach her... you can be her Onii-chan once more._

He realised what he had to do.

 _If I am to complete her story, I will need to play out those memoires. That way, I can return them to her, and allow her to remember._

 _If I can be her Onii-chan to her, then she won't have to rewind time anymore._

 _Then…_

He didn't need to finish his thought.

He looked down at the Eyecon.

"Thank you, Takeru. I guess you figured something like this would happen, huh?"

Ahead, he saw Alice waiting for him. She turned around, noticing his presence.

Emu let the vision play out naturally, saying the words that came to his head. He knew that these words weren't his, but they were of the previous Master. It was his memory, after all.

"The third battle is over. Looks like I was able to pick up another win somehow."

Alice nodded, bowing her head slightly. They set off to the edge of the forest.

"I'm glad you're okay. Well, I guess that's all thanks to you. Because you chose to concede by absence."

Alice nodded again.

"The loser in a Holy Grail War loses their life. But you…"

Alice raised her head, staring into Emu's eyes.

"Because I was dead all along, Moon Cell couldn't kill me." She said.

They reached the edge. In front of them was the bridge to the Elevator.

Emu stopped and turned around.

"I'm going to ascend."

He spoke those words with a heavy heart, knowing what would become of the girl. However, he couldn't let those emotions get in the way of his goal.

As Alice grasped her dress, a tear fell from her eyes.

"Don't go…"

Then, the tears cascaded down.

"Don't go! Please don't go! Don't leave me!" she cried.

The sight of her crying brought Emu to tears as well.

 _I can't leave her like this._

He couldn't help himself.

He took control of the memory, kneeling down to Alice's height.

"It's okay. When I get the grail, I will come back to you. Remember all those games we played together?"

Alice wiped away a tear and nodded.

"When I get back, we can play all those games again. I know how much you suffered in life. I know what those adults did to you. I know the pain you went through. Therefore…"

He stood up again.

"I will save you. I promise."

He reached out his hands and patted her on the head. Under his hands, her hair felt soft and warm. Emu smiled, and Alice did so too through her tears.

He then turned around and walked away into the elevator.

As the elevator doors closed behind him, his vision began to fade into black. However, he could hear Alice's voice in his mind.

 _Okay. I'll be waiting. Make sure you find me, okay?_

 _I want to see you again. I want to see you!_

 _If I can, it'll make everything up to now worth it!_

As the last lights of the memory faded, Emu nodded his head.

 _I will find you, Alice. I will find you._

 _And then…_

 _You can finally rest in peace._

* * *

"Maestro, you seem to lose yourself in thought here often. Surely it has some relation to your past?"

The four were walking down the labyrinth of thorns where Emu had first seen Alice.

After Emu had woken up, he had set off into the labyrinth with the other three trailing behind. He knew he had to explain himself at some point, but now, he had more important things to do.

They reached the centre, and Emu's eyes widened.

There was nothing left.

No white sheets covering the walls. No pictures. No roses. All that was left of the table and chairs were wire frames.

"No. There's nothing left." Emu mumbled.

On the chair where Alice sat was a single book. It was Alice's story book; the one that she was reading in his visions.

 _This is the one._

He reached down.

* * *

"Why are you trying to ascend, Onii-chan?" Alice asked.

In an instant, he was back in the vision. The tables and chairs were restored to their previous condition. He was sitting in the one he sat in previously, and Alice sat in the other one, her head resting on her folded arms.

 _One final test._

He remembered the first time he was there, he couldn't answer the question properly. However, Alice had responded as if he had answered. Therefore, he could not lie to himself anymore.

He sighed. Then he opened his mouth to speak.

"When I first came here, I didn't care for the war. All I wanted to do was to leave. I made it my objective to reach the top, because I thought it was the only way out."

Alice tilted her head.

"Then, during the climb, I did things that I… can't forgive myself for doing. There was another part of me that harboured a desire to reach the Moon Cell. At first, I was wary of their intentions. However…"

He paused.

"I cannot deny that what they wanted made sense."

He had realised this a while ago, but he didn't want to admit it.

"In the first floor, I killed a traitor. Someone who I thought was my friend. He was driven to the point of madness, and he tried to use me as a tool to ascend. In the second floor, the former Knight was reduced to a psychopath, killing endless in a futile attempt to ascend. I had to kill him too. The Moon Cell… drove both of them to that point. And now you…"

He teared up.

"You're… the only innocent one here. You did nothing wrong. And now… this War is forcing me to kill you as well. I can't justify it anymore. As a doctor… I need to preserve life, but I need to betray myself to ascend, what's the point? I hate this Moon Cell for making me do this. Therefore… I'll put a stop to this, even if… even if…"

He paused, taking a breath.

Then he finally managed to say what he truly felt.

"Even if I have to destroy everything."

* * *

Emu took out the Blank Double Gashat and placed it on the book.

"I am you. You are me." He chanted, just as Nursery Rhyme did

The Gashat and the book glowed, fusing into one. When the light subsided, what was left was the Double Gashat, now cyan and orange. On it was a label, which said "Mighty Brothers XX".

"Are you satisfied?" Rin asked.

Emu turned around.

"There's nothing left here. There's no one to save. No one to speak of." Rin continued.

Emu turned back towards the castle, ignoring her question.

"Let's go." He said coldly.

Emu's heart still weighed in his chest. He looked up at the castle.

"I will end this…"

He clenched his fist.

"…with my own hands."


	17. Chapter 14: Conclusion

Chapter 14: Conclusion

The four stood on the roof of one of the towers atop the dress-like castle, facing the orange monster. It spread its wings, tearing apart the sheets that covered it, revealing the blue dress of Alice, while branches grew out of its sides. Then, it reared its head and sent shrill shrieks towards the blood-red sky. However, behind the unintelligible cacophony of its cries, Emu could hear a girl's voice calling out.

 _Please don't go! Please don't go! Please don't forget me!_

 _The pain… the fear… the loneliness…_

 _I can't take it anymore!_

Emu, gritting his teeth, gripped the cyan-and-orange Gashat in his hands. He pulled out his Gamer Driver from his Doctor's jacket. However, as he raised his Driver, he realized something. Something that gave him a glimmer of hope.

 _If the X form is based on my Level 1 form, then maybe it could do the same thing as the Level 1 form._

It was a small chance, but if he could separate Alice from the other Bugster data, then he wouldn't have to compromise himself again.

He placed the Driver on his waist, causing the belt to appear around him.

Takeru materialized his Ghost Driver, and Saber drew her sword. However, Emu put his hand out to stop them.

"This is my fight. I need to do this alone."

Takeru and Saber stopped in their tracks.

"Why?" Takeru asked, worried. "If we couldn't defeat her together, then how would you be able to-"

"If we outnumber her, we'll drive her into a corner, forcing her to Reset with her Noble Phantasm. But if I fight her alone, then I'll be able to administer the cure."

Takeru still had reservations, but Saber smiled.

"Umu! If that's the case, then I have full faith in you, Maestro! Now, show us your solo performance and take down this beast!"

Emu turned to Rin.

"Rin. Can you protect the other?"

Rin sighed.

"Alright then. If you know what you're doing…"

Emu nodded.

"Lastly, Takeru…"

He turned to him.

"Thank you for giving me your Eyecon. Without it, I wouldn't be able to do this."

Takeru smiled.

"Good luck, Emu."

Emu raised the Gashat in his right hand and pressed the activation button.

 **MIGHTY BROTHERS DOUBLE XX!**

Behind Emu, a half-cyan half-orange Game Screen popped up with the game's title on the screen.

 _I'll change Alice's fate… with my own hands!_

Emu swung his right arm across to his left and yelled

"Henshin!"

He slammed the Gashat into his driver and opened it.

 **DOUBLE GASHATTO**

 **GACHAN! LEVEL UP!**

The circle with characters' faces on it appeared around Emu, spinning round to a new face: a half-cyan half-orange chibi Ex-Aid. Emu reached out his hand to select it, and it spun into the centre, growing and imprinting itself onto Emu's body as it glowed with cyan and orange light.

 **MIGHTY BROTHERS!**

 **FUTARI DE HITORI!**

 **MIGHTY BROTHERS!**

 **FUTARI DE VICTORY!**

 **X!**

With a final burst of light, the transformation was complete. Emu was now Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, Double Action Gamer Level X.

It was a chibi version of Ex-Aid's Level 2 form, but with his right half being orange and the left half cyan. On his right chest was a grid of square buttons, and he had 3 Rider Health Gauges on his left chest.

The monster faced Ex-Aid, staring at him with its camera-lens-like eye. Then, it pulled back its wings and prepared to attack.

With a running start, Emu charged towards the monster.

The Bugster Union swung its wings forward, sending a hail of razor-sharp feathers towards Emu. Utilising the heightened agility of the form, he nimbly dodged all the feathers, jumping off the sides of some of the blocks to reach the monster. The Bugster started spawning scissors on its branches and firing them at Ex-Aid.

 **GASHACON KEY SLASHER!**

Ex-Aid pulled out a large sword with an axe blade attached and a keypad with orange, yellow and cyan buttons. On the keypad, he pressed an Orange button.

 **ZU-PA-PA-PAN!**

The axe blade glowed and enlarged. Ex-Aid swung the sword towards the oncoming scissors, and a large orange axe-slash shot towards them, dispersing them. Emu was careful not to let them rebound towards the Bugster Union, lest she takes too much damage and resets again.

He then pressed the Cyan button on the sword.

 **JA-JA-JA-KIN!**

Landing on the other rooftop, he used the blade of the sword to attack the Bugster Union, targeting the legs to destabilise the monster and making sure to not incur lethal damage. The Bugster Union continued to screech and flail about as Ex-Aid surgically slashed away at the form, Hit and Great indicators popped up wherever Ex-Aid managed to strike successfully.

 _This should be it!_

With the Bugster sufficiently weakened, it was time to separate Alice from the rogue Data.

He pulled out his Double Gashat from his Driver and inserted it into the Gashacon Key Slasher, pressing the yellow button

 **DOUBLE GASHATTO! KIMEWAZA!**

 **ZU-KYU-KYU-KYUN!**

He aimed the point of the sword towards the Union and pulled the trigger.

 **MIGHTY BROTHERS CRITICAL FINISH!**

A yellow, orange and cyan ball shout out of the sword and struck the Union, enveloping it in its light and causing a massive explosion, shrouding the monster in smoke.

 _Yes! That should do it!_

Suddenly, orange tendrils shot out from the smoke and wrapped around Ex-Aid's legs.

 _Eh?_

Before Ex-Aid could react, the tendrils pulled him upwards and slammed him into the ground.

The smoke cleared, and Emu's eyes widened.

The Bugster Union was still standing. Rearing its head, it let out a humongous roar.

 _No… no… it can't be! It can't be!_

 _Too late._

Ex-Aid raised his arm to slash the tendrils, but more tendrils shot out from the Union and wrapped around his left arm, causing him to drop the Gashacon Key Slasher. The tendrils pinned Ex-Aid to the ground.

Takeru and Saber ran forward to help, but they suddenly struck an invisible wall.

"A Bounded Field!?" Rin exclaimed. "I didn't know it had this kind of ability!"

Saber tried to slash at the wall, but her sword rebounded off the surface. Desperate, she started furiously attacking the wall.

"Maestro!" she shouted.

Scissors started to grow on the branches of the Bugster, aiming straight for Ex-Aid's chest.

 _Damn it!_

Emu tried to struggle, but the tendrils were too strong.

 _I need to escape, but the only way to do so is-_

 _I can't! If I do, that means…_

However, he had no more time to think, as the Bugster launched its scissors towards Ex-Aid.

Without him realizing it, his right arm reached down and closed and opened the lever on the driver.

 **GACHON!**

 **GACHAN!**

 **DOUBLE UP!**

Out of the Driver popped out a half-cyan half-orange screen with two figures on it. It moved downwards onto Ex-Aid's body, causing a flash of light that made the Bugster recoil. Saber, Takeru and Rin covered their eyes to shield them from the flash. The tendrils around Ex-Aid's legs and arm exploded as armour was ejected from Ex-Aid's body, which was then surrounded by a cyan and orange aura as the scissors struck, causing a massive dust explosion.

"Emu!" Takeru shouted.

Then, as the dust cleared, they heard something.

 **ORE GA OMAE DE**

 **OMAE GA ORE DE**

 **WE ARE!**

 **MIGHTY MIGHTY BROTHERS! DOUBLE X!**

Where Ex-Aid once was stood… two Ex-Aids!?

Saber and Rin were taken aback.

"Two… Maestros?!" Saber asked.

They were both cyan and orange, but each one had a dominant colour. The left side was mostly cyan, while the right side was mostly orange. Each of them had half of the previous form's hairstyle in their respective colours, while the other half of their head was the colour of the other side.

As they broke their pose, Emu wondered what had happened.

 _I didn't initiate it…_

Then, he had another thought.

 _I feel… incomplete, and yet all my conscious is in this body. Then who's-_

He suddenly had a horrible thought.

The cyan Ex-Aid turned to the orange Ex-Aid.

 _No._

The orange Ex-Aid turned as well, and suddenly, Emu could sense the other side maliciously smile.

 _You accepted it, haven't you?_

 _We shall release her._

The Orange Ex-Aid turned and sped towards the Bugster, raising the Gashacon Breaker in its hand.

The Cyan Ex-Aid ran after him.

 _Stop!_

Ignoring the other side's pleas, the Orange Ex-Aid then proceeded to violently hack at the Bugster. The Bugster gave a screech of agony.

The Cyan Ex-Aid grabbed the Orange Ex-Aid.

 _We can't! There must be another way!?_

 _You said it yourself. We need to end this with our own hands._

 _Not like this! You're causing her pain!_

Still in denial, the Cyan Ex-Aid continued to try and restrain the Orange Ex-Aid.

 _If you still cannot accept this, then we have no choice._

The Orange Ex-Aid broke free and slashed at the Cyan Ex-Aid, knocking him back.

As the Orange Ex-Aid approached the Cyan Ex-Aid, the Bugster managed to recover. It viciously launched its tendrils at the two Ex-Aids, catching the Orange one off-guard.

It turned towards the Bugster and started cutting at the tendrils, moving slowly towards the main body.

The cyan Ex-Aid, having seen the orange one move in for the kill, instinctively ran and tackled him, causing the Orange Ex-Aid to fall to the floor. This distraction gave the Bugster enough time to strike at both of them with its tendrils, sending both flying. They hit the ground with a thud. The Bugster then prepared its final volley of scissors.

* * *

 _Crap, this is bad!_ Rin thought. _What the hell is he doing!?_

 _I have no choice. I need to use my trump card._

Rin ran forward towards the field and jumped.

Taking out a red and blue Ganma Eyecon from her pocket, she activated the Eyecon. It flared red.

 **CU CHULAINN**

Takeru looked up and saw Rin.

"What is she doing?"

On her arm materialized a black brace with a black shape on it that had a hole. She slammed her Eyecon into the hole.

 **LOADING!**

Out of the shape flew a blue and red Parka Ghost. As the base of her Transient armour materialized, the Parka Ghost landed on her shoulder. A mask made of two crossed spears appeared on her face as a red spear appeared in her hands, glowing with a red aura.

"Gae… Bolg!"

She threw the spear at the monster. It struck the bounded field, but unlike Saber's sword it didn't get deflected. It continued to push on the field, causing ripples to appear as the field materialized into view. As it continued to vibrate, cracks began to spread across the surface of the field, until eventually, broke through, hurtling straight at the Bugster and striking it in the Chest.

The cries of pain from the Bugster grabbed the attention of the two Ex-Aids.

"Quickly! Before she has time to reset, get yourself together and finish her!" Rin shouted.

The Orange Ex-Aid turned to the Emu. Emu could sense what his counterpart was saying.

 _There is no other way._

As Emu watched the Bugster writhe in pain, he couldn't help shed another tear.

 _He's right…_

 _We already tried._

 _What else can I do?_

With a heavy heart, he got up and closed the lever on his Driver. The Orange Ex-Aid did the same.

 **GACHON!**

 **KIMEWAZA!**

As the two Ex-Aids readied themselves, the Orange one's left leg and the Cyan one's right leg side by side, their legs started to flash with orange, cyan and purple energy.

 **MIGHTY DOUBLE CRITICAL STRIKE!**

The two Ex-Aids jumped into the air towards the Bugster. They kicked the Bugster simultaneously, before reforming into Level X, who then double punched the monster into the Air. The single Ex-aid then separated back into the two Ex-Aids and launched into a final Kick.

 _Goodbye… Alice._

The kick made contact with the Bugster's chest, and the energy in the legs spread across the Bugster's body, causing it to screech in pain once more.

* * *

Inside the Bugster, the remnants of Alice's mind was screaming in terror and pain

 _It hurts! It hurts! Stop!_

However, as Alice prepared to instinctively activate Nursery Rhyme's Noble Phantasm, an image appeared in her mind.

It was her memory of the doctor who cared for her when she was alive.

Alice stopped.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light as more images began to appear in her mind.

The time when she first met the other Master in the middle of the maze. The time when the other Master played Hide and Seek with her. The time when the other Master finished the book to her. And most importantly, the time when the other Master asked her to wait for him.

In these memories, however, the other Master was now the Doctor Gamer.

Through the Bugster's eye, she had seen Emu transform into Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, and now she recognized the Kamen Rider who was attacking her. Tears welled up in the Bugster's eye.

 _Onii-chan…_

As all the memories she had lost returned to her, in her mind, another figure appeared. It was a girl who looked exactly like her, except she was wearing a black dress.

"Did you have fun?" the girl asked.

Alice nodded.

"I'm glad." The girl said.

"However, it's time to come home."

The other girl reached out her hand.

"Onii-chan's come back for you."

Alice rose and reached out her hand, grabbing onto the girl's. Together, they stepped forwards towards the light.

* * *

As the two Ex-Aids finished their kick through the Bugster, its body exploded. The Ex-Aids landed on the roof and slid to a halt. Then, then both stood up.

"Emu!"

"Maestro!"

Takeru and Saber ran up to the two Ex-Aids as they both closed their drivers and pulled out the Gashat. They recombined into one body before the armour vanished, leaving Emu standing in the rain of orange dust, holding his Double Gashat.

Rin also ran over, removing the Eyecon from her brace. Her armour dissolved.

"Emu, are you alright?" she asked, worried.

Emu turned to face them, smiling.

"Yes, Takeru. Saber. Rin. I'm fine. Now, shall we get going?"

The elevator descended from the sky and landed in front of the four.

"Oh, right. Takeru?"

He walked over to Takeru and gave him the Double Gashat.

"The Floor Master's Servant gave me this Gashat. I think it may be the last of her power."

Takeru nodded. He materialized his Ghost Driver then, placing the Double Gashat on the palm of his left hand, he used his write hand to draw a circle over it. The Ghost insignia appeared over the Gashat, and the Gashat dissolved into orange mist, which was drawn into the insignia. Out of the insignia flew out a Parka Ghost, with two lights for eyes, shaped like a black dress, with a hoodie that had a black flat-topped hat on the top. Attached the hat were two pink ribbons and what looked like two white braids of hair. The Parka Ghost flew into Takeru's Driver. Takeru held his hand under the front of his driver, and out popped a half-black half-blue Eyecon with a white scelera. On the top plate was the letters ES-03, an image of two doll-like figures standing back to back holding open books and the words "Nursery Rhyme".

Takeru held onto the Eyecon as they entered the elevator.

* * *

Once inside, Takeru held up the Nursery Rhyme Eyecon. It glowed blue, and Takeru was absorbed into the Eyecon.

When he opened his eyes, he was in a dimly lit library that looked Victorian. There were bookshelves on the walls lined with books, most of which looked ancient. In the centre of the room was a bed, and in the bed lay a girl with bubblegum pink hair, sleeping soundly.

"Welcome, Tenkuji Takeru."

Takeru whipped around. Behind him was another girl. She looked identical to the girl sleeping in the bed, except she was wearing a black Victorian Dress and hat. In her hands was a book.

"You are… Nursery Rhyme?"

"Correct."

"How do you… know my name?"

She smiled.

"I am the embodiment of stories, past, present and future. Your story is no exception, Kamen Rider Ghost."

The use of his title to address him made Takeru slightly unnerved.

"I must thank you, Tenkuji Takeru. You were able to see into the memories of others when you were alive, and it seems that you are able to even here. Because of this, you were able to guide Emu Hojo to where he needed to go."

Takeru remembered the girl he saw in the forest.

"So that girl… is the girl sleeping here?"

Nursery Rhyme nodded.

"Then, who is she?"

"She is the Master of this Floor."

Takeru was confused.

"Wait, her? How could she be the Master? I never saw her again after that time… Also, if you're the Servant, then who was that Monster? Was it one of your subordinates?"

"Lots of questions, huh?"

Nursery Rhyme sighed.

"You have seen her. Tell me, why do you think Emu was so reluctant to finish off the monster? Why was it so unwilling to fight? It is after all only two letters away."

Takeru took a moment to think. Then, the realization struck him.

"No… you can't mean… that Monster was her?"

Nursery Rhyme walked over to a bookshelf and pulled down a book.

"I think it's about time you learn her story."

Takeru's vision darkened.

* * *

"So… that was what she was going through…"

There were tears in his eyes as he opened them.

"If I had known… then-"

"You wouldn't have been able to do anything about it." Nursery Rhyme said.

"That boy… he's a stubborn fellow. He felt like he had an obligation to do this himself, as penance for the shame the other doctors brought to his profession. Even if you offered help, he wanted to shoulder the burden alone. That's why he never told you. Although he swore to give her rest, he was always trying to find hope to the bitter end; that he would be able to rescue her and save her. He had to kill before, isn't that right?"

Takeru nodded.

"Even in those times, he hated having to stain his hands with blood, but at least he was able to justify those times, even if barely. This time, however, there was no reason."

"Then, why is the girl here? If Emu had to kill her using your Gashat, then-"

"Oh, the Gashat also had a secondary purpose." Nursery Rhyme replied.

"You see, as well as injecting her with those memories that Emu created, it also injected the last of my Servant Data into her, so that I would be able to enter her and retrieve her consciousness and my Servant powers as data. That is why you were able to create my Eyecon from that Gashat."

"So, you saved her?"

Nursery Rhyme nodded.

"How could I kill my former Master? As much as I was a dear friend to Alice, Alice was a dear friend to me. Of course, I had to save her. Her conscious is in this Eyecon along with me. You notice the dual figures on the top plate of this Eyecon."

"Then why tell Emu that he had to kill her?"

"…"

Nursery Rhyme turned away.

"…Emu had to think that." She answered in a low voice.

"Huh?"

She turned back to face Takeru, walked up to him.

"Every story must have conflict. Through conflict, the hero grows, overcoming himself until he becomes a stronger person than he was before. All I'm saying is that Emu needs a little push to develop."

"But why?"

"If I told you, that would be a spoiler. Then the flow of the story would drastically change, possibly for the worse.

Takeru fell silent.

"I feel sorry for him." Nursery Rhyme continued. "However, this needed to be done. Can you please keep this a secret from Emu?"

It took a long while for Takeru to deliberate in his mind as to what to do, but eventually, he reluctantly agreeded.

"Good." Nursery Rhyme smiled. She closed the book in her hand. "I think it's about time for you to return."

Takeru nodded. He turned around to leave.

"Oh, and Takeru, one last thing."

Takeru turned back.

"When Emu is in desperate need, please be there for him. He's such a good boy, but I feel like he's going through a lot at the moment. And when Emu falls…"

Nursery Rhyme stopped for a moment to think.

"Can I go with him?"

Takeru was a little confused with the wording of her statement, but nonetheless nodded his head. He proceeded to turn around and walk forwards, his form vanishing into the wall.

Nursery Rhyme waltzed back to Alice's bedside.

"Hey, Alice. The story's about to get interesting." She whispered to his ear.

"Let's wish Onii-chan good luck."

Alice smiled in her sleep.

"Onii-chan… good luck." She whispered.

* * *

Takeru opened his eyes again. He was sitting on a couch in the Elevator, along with Saber and Rin.

"Man, that floor was boring!" Saber complained. She lay down on the back pillows. "I didn't do enough fighting! That damned monster kept cheating every time we dueled! All we had were long walking hours and philosophizing! And mushrooms! Too many mushrooms! And where did that eggplant even come from?"

She gestured to a huge pile of mushrooms she collected on the floor, topped with a single eggplant.

"Damn you mushrooms ( _kinoko_ ) and eggplant ( _nasu_ )! You ruined this story for all of us! Too much philosophy, not enough action! What, do we have to rewrite this story to make everyone happy?"

 _What on Earth is she even talking about now?_

Then he noticed that Emu wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Where's Emu?"

Takeru got up and looked around.

"Don't worry." Rin assured Takeru. "He said he wanted to take some time to reflect on something, so we're giving him some privacy. I think he went into one of the smaller rooms. I don't recommend you talk to him. He's been through a lot."

Takeru returned to his seat, still concerned.

 _Emu… what's going on?_


	18. Chapter 16: Despair

…huh?

What's this?

It seems that the records of the Fourth Floor have been lost.

Hmm…

Well, it seems that only 1 chapter is missing in this book.

Let's continue then, shall we?

Chapter 16: Despair

"That Fourth Floor was bizarre, wasn't it?" Saber asked.

She was standing back to back with Takeru in the middle of the Elevator's room, each lifting the other onto their backs one at a time. Rin had suggested this to improve the bonding between Takeru and Saber, so that they might fight as one more easily. As she spoke that last sentence, she lifted Takeru onto her back.

"The Third Floor was strange enough, but at least there was an enemy to face." Saber continued, putting Takeru back on the floor. "There, the Ladder had already descended! What happened to the Fourth Floor Master?"

"Well, we did find the Eyecon of the Fourth Floor Servant." Takeru replied, lifting Saber in turn. "I wonder why Emu was pulled in, though."

"That I know not." Saber spoke as Takeru put her down again. "He hasn't changed much, though. Not that I can tell."

Takeru looked over to the couches.

Emu was sitting there, resting his head on his hands, staring into blank space. He had a neutral expression on his face.

Ever since the Third Floor, Takeru noticed that Emu spoke a lot less. He also eschewed the video games he had so eagerly played in the Lower Floor Elevators, opting to just sit in silence, as if deep in thought. Takeru had wanted to talk to Emu, but Rin and Saber both refused to let him.

 _Let him have his own time._ Rin had said. _He's been through a lot._

 _Still…_ Takeru thought.

 _I want to help._

"Could he be tired from all that fighting? I mean, the First and Second Floor were no pushover…" Takeru asked, lifting Saber up again.

"Drake and Robin Hood, eh?" Saber mused. "True, those two were a cut above the rest, but they were no match for Maestro and I! Oh, and you too, Takeru."

Takeru set Saber down.

"Umu! We're on a roll!" Saber exclaimed gleefully, as she lifted Takeru up.

"You two sure are carefree." Rin commented as she entered the room. "Although I guess it's better to stay that way while you can."

She sat herself down on the smaller couch.

"What were you up to, Rin?" Takeru asked.

Rin smirked. She held up her hands and, with a flourish, produced a large green Raincoat. Saber, impressed, clapped her hands, causing her to let go of Takeru. He fell to the floor with a thud.

"Preparations for the Fifth Floor. Here, Saber, I made one for you too."

She put down the Raincoat she was holding and produced another one, this time yellow. She tossed it at Saber, who caught it and tried it on.

"Oh, and Takeru, your transformed form had a hood, right? I trust that you don't need one of these." Rin cheekily remarked.

Takeru, rubbing his backside as he got up, sighed.

"Very funny, Rin. But I don't think my Rider form should be used for Rain protection only."

"True, but I highly recommend you use it anyways. Who knows what can pop out and attack?"

Takeru paused for a moment to consider this, then reluctanctly agreed.

"Oh, and Emu, dear? I've got one for you."

She materialised a Pink and Neon-green poncho.

"Look! It's your colours!"

She chucked it at Emu, who raised a hand and caught it.

At that moment, the Elevator dinged.

"Perfect timing. We're here." Emu got up, putting on the poncho in the process. "Come on, let's get this finished with."

* * *

The Fifth Floor was a city in ruins. Toppled buildings were strewn around the landscape, the last remnants of a civilisation long withered away, darkened by black clouds. Rain poured down endlessly, as if trying to wash away the heaps of concrete and metal. The only illumination was the dim glow of red lights, occasionally punctuated by lightning.

Emu gripped his face, grimacing.

"This is the Fifth Floor, home to Berserker and the sound of constant rain." Rin said.

She gestured to a large tower in the centre of the ruins, pointing to the top where another elevator stood

"That's the ladder to the sixth floor."

"It's already lowered, it seems." Saber noted.

"Right. If Emu makes it there, he can use it to ascend manually. This floor doesn't have a Floor Master, after all." Rin said.

"It won't go smoothly, though…"

Her expression turned dark.

"There's a homicidal maniac that lurks on this floor. A monster like the one on the Third Floor. If we cross him, we have no choice but to fight."

Emu didn't flinch. Takeru, however, was nervous.

"Before becoming a Master, he was killing people down on Earth." Rin continued. "And even during the Holy Grail War, he was taking out Masters in the shadows."

Saber's eyes widened suddenly.

"His name, it's not…"

"Julius Belkisk Harwey. The older brother of Leo Bistario Harwey, who was said to be the strongest Master in the history of the Holy Grail War."

Rin turned to Saber.

"Saber, you and your former Master defeated him here on this Fifth Floor."

Saber nodded.

"That would make his Servant that man, then. That's…"

Saber drifted off.

"Is he strong?" Takeru asked.

Saber didn't respond.

"Well, you beat him once already." Takeru said.

"Indeed. Albeit just barely, and with a great deal of luck."

Then she smiled, turning to Emu.

"Thanks to that, I know all his tricks! Leave him to us, Maestro."

* * *

The four, lead by Rin, moved swiftly through the ruins, heading straight towards the tower. None on them spoke a word as they worked their way amongst the fallen structures, seeking shelter from the rain as often as they could. Despite their ponchos, the four of them (except Takeru, who was transformed into his Rider Form) were still soaked to their bones by the splashes caused by their footsteps.

Suddenly, Rin held up her arms, signalling the others to stop. She crept forward and hid behind a slab of concrete, peering round to look. Then, she turned back towards the others.

"Looks like it's not going to be that simple after all. He's right there, just standing. This is the only way to get to the Elevator."

"Seems there's no choice but to settle this." Takeru remarked.

"No. Now that we know the situation, we should fall back and come up with a strategy. There must be some other way-"

"So you've arrived."

The four turned upwards to look at where the voice came from.

On the top of a building was a silhouette of a man wearing a black coat.

"I've been waiting for you, Hojo Emu!"

Emu's eyes widened.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash and as eruption of dust. From the haze, a red-haired man[NY1] in a Chinese outfit burst out and rushed straight towards Emu, readying his fists. However, Saber moved swiftly to intercept, her sword raised.

"They're aiming for Maestro!" Saber shouted, grunting as the man's fists impacted her blade.

The man on the building laughed as he dropped down.

"Takeru!" Saber shouted, swinging her sword at the red-haired man. "Protect Maestro!"

Ghost materialised his Gan Gan Saber and jumped up, preparing to meet the attack. However, the falling man swatted Ghost aside with a kick, sending him flying into the wall of a nearby building.

The man drew him arms back. Emu raised his arms to protect himself and blocked the punch. As the man landed on the ground, he spun round and kicked Emu into the wall behind him, sending him crashing through the thick concrete and into the building. The man ran in pursuit.

Meanwhle, the red-haired man continued his barrage of punches and kicks, which Saber deflected with her sword. However, it was clear that Saber was on the back foot. With a final punch, he sent a devastating blow which knocked Saber back.

"Gae Bolg!"

From above, Rin, who had transformed into Dark Necrom Cu Chulainn Damashii, threw her spear at the enemy Servant. He jumped backwards as the spear struck the ground. Rin landed and picked up Saber, jumping forwards to escape the Servant.

"Just as I suspected. You told us to leave him to you, but this guy's a pretty tough customer!"

She landed and set Saber down on the ground.

"Excellent timing! I'll leave him to you for a bit!" Saber said.

"Eh!?"

Saber placed her hand on Rin's shoulder.

"Indeed! If possible, it would be best if you and Takeru defeat him!"

Saber then jumped to the window of a building.

"Huh!? I came to save her, and she shoved her work on me! How self-centred is that woman? And where is Takeru, anyways…?"

Suddenly, she heard a whoosh behind her, and turned around, readying her spear. The enemy Servant had found her and was heading straight for her head!

"Rin!"

Ghost flew in from the side with a kick, sending the Servant flying off to the side.

"Are you alright?" Ghost asked, turning to Rin.

Rin nodded.

"Thanks for the save! But he's getting up soon, so hurry!"

Ghost pulled out the Drake Eyecon and activated it. He put it into his Ghost Driver.

 **EYE!**

The Drake Damashii emerged from the driver and circled around Ghost. He pulled and pushed the lever on the side of the Ghost Driver.

 **KAIGAN! FRANCIS DRAKE!**

 **AROUND THE WORLD WE'RE CIRCLING! LET THE WILD HUNT BEGIN!**

The Ghost Damashii on Ghost's armour vanished, and the Francis Drake Damashii landed on Ghost, its mask popping up onto Ghost's face. He pulled out the Gan Gan Saber in Gun mode while another bat-like device emerged from the Ghost Driver, transforming into a gun. He levelled the guns while Rin materialised her spear.

Meanwhile, Emu, recovering from the impact of the kick, got to his feet just as the man wearing the black coat appeared in front of him, aiming another kick at his chest. Emu jumped backwards, and the man hit the ground where Emu had been just seconds before, leaving a crater.

"So you've come back."

Emu faced the man, panting hard.

"No. So you've arrived."

He jumped forward and kneed Emu into some steel tanks, causing them to collapse. Emu was knocked back again, but managed to stay on his feet.

"Obstinate, aren't we?"

The man slowly walked towards Emu.

"How very like you."

Suddenly, he vanished and reappeared in front of Emu, punching him hard. Emu hit the back wall and landed on his feet, dodging another punch from the man.

"But what's this?"

Emu stopped and turned to face the man.

"I was expecting a proper fight. But now I feel as though I'll die of disappointment!"

He kicked Emu again. Emu hit the wall and collapsed on the floor. He got onto his knees, but suddenly coughed up blood.

"How long do you want to play this charade, Emu Hojo? How long before you accept reality?"

Emu slowly got up again, pulling out his Gamer Driver and equipping it.

He brought out his Mighty Action X Gashat and Dangerous Zombie Gashat and activated them.

 **MIGHTY ACTION X!**

 **DANGEROUS ZOMBIE!**

Their game screens blazed behind him, sending out brown blocks around the area.

Emu slammed both of them into the Driver and opened it.

 **GASHATTO!**

 **GACHAN!**

 **LEVEL UP!**

 **MIGHTY ACTION X!**

 **DEATH THE CRISIS! DANGEROUS ZOMBIE!**

With a flash of purple, he became Ex-Aid Level X-2 again.

The man charged forwards, and Ex-Aid did the same. Their fists collided with each other, sending out a shockwave that caused the ground to shake. As they passed by each other, the man in the black coat spun round, bringing his face into the light.

On his body were purple splotches which covered his coat and parts of his face as well.

The man reared his head back and laughed madly. Ex-Aid ran forward, fist raised, but the man stepped aside and caught his arm. Before Ex-Aid could react, the man threw him over his shoulder and onto the floor, leaving a crater as Ex-Aid hit the floor.

"What a naïve bastard you are." The man sneered. "You can't accept it, can't you? You and I are both garbage, lower than even ghosts!"

He pulled out a purple device and placed it on his waist.

 **GACHON**

He then brought out another Dangerous Zombie Gashat and activated it.

 **DANGEROUS ZOMBIE!**

As the game screen appeared behind him, he pushed the Gashat into the device and pressed a button on the top.

 **BUGGLE UP!**

 **DANGER DANGER!**

 **DEATH THE CRISIS!**

 **DANGEROUS ZOMBIE!**

As a white and red screen with two zombie-like figures on it emerged from the device, purple smoke began engulfing the man. His movements became erratic as the screen moved backwards, before it was smashed as the now-transformed man broke through with a punch.

The man had transformed into a form almost identical to Ex-Aid's.

Kamen Rider Genm: Zombie Gamer Level X.

"Pretending to be a Master… what a joke!"

He grabbed Ex-Aid by the throat and lifted him into the air.

"The two of us had our purposes taken from us long, long ago."

Then, he punched through Ex-Aid's chest.

The world turned black.

* * *

When Emu opened his eyes, he was in the incinerator room from the ground floor, standing on the walkway hanging over the abyss. Sitting on the edge of the walkway was the man Emu saw in his dream: the one wearing the white coat.

"Oh? To think that we'd meet again."

The man turned around to look at Emu.

"It seems the two of us are bound by fate. Both in the present and the past."

"The past?"

"I know, of course. Not everything, but quite a bit. I know you aren't from this world. I know that you're harbouring a dark secret."

"What do you mean?" Emu asked.

The man turned back to look into the abyss.

"SE RA PH has declined these past thousand years. The only new thing to come out of this millennium of loss was the shadow of death.

The Dead Face virus.

Ghosts long for life, wandering of search of it without bodies. But Dead Faces are different.

They were taken prisoners by death during their life. They are like curses, acting as members of the dead in order to spread death.

'I want to die.'

'I want it all to end.'

That's the kind of malignant information they are.

In SE RA PH, death of the body is separate from death of the spirit. Even if the body dies, any remaining spirit will accumulate as a curse.

People are normally set free from their emotions when they die. No matter how much resentment they bear.

But when Angelica Case closed and the Holy Grail War ended, SE RA PH became a digital hell. The regrets of the dead stopped being disassembled and purified and began simply being left as they were.

Once, I was just like you. I wished to reform humanity. The prosperity born from sacrificing my era lacked maturity, after all. I wished for humanity's growth to be worthy of the sacrifice.

But my wish came to ruin.

I continued to live, continued to create, until I reached a clear conclusion,

Scolding incompetent children for their lack of ability is simple arrogance.

'Fine,' I decided. 'We have no need for further growth. This is as far as we humans go.'

I killed many victors, both good and evil. You could call them heroes worthy of the title of 'victor'. But none of them could bring about salvation.

Normally, they would simply be recorded as information, but when they felt SE RA PH fall a single change occurred. Their grudges released, Angelica's victors were struck by hatred. The dead, the defeated, the colossal number of records they left about their defeats. The curses accumulated, manifesting as a virus, seeking to destroy everything in their path. But every virus needs a host. And what better vessel for the curses of the dead than a man who devoted his life to help the living…?"

Emu suddenly felt uneasy.

"Normally, they can take the shape of those who still had vengeance in their heart when they died. Someone who, for example, wanted revenge on the one who beat them. However, if they can curse someone who is alive, then once they have fully corrupted their host, they can become stronger than anything else is SE RA PH. After that, well…"

Emu realised what the man was saying. His pulse quickened as his mind processed everything that was being said to him.

There was only one more question in his mind.

"Why did you bring me here?"

The man smirked.

"Can't you tell? They've already won."

Emu's eyes widened in shock.

"You can feel it, can't you? Their anger. Their rage. Their thirst for death. It's almost become second nature to you, hasn't it? You tried so hard to hold them off, but the cruelty of SE RA PH forced you to confront the truth. It must have been a single moment that pushed you over the edge. I bet it was when you killed that girl, Alice-"

"Don't say her name so casually!" Emu shouted, purple flaring in his eyes. Then, he realised what happened.

"I told you. It's almost complete."

The man got up and turned to face Emu.

"After you fell to despair, your defences against the Deadface were lowered, allowing them to corrupt you. The you there is the last of your humanity left, and even it has been tainted. You saw how you used Dangerous Zombie so casually, without a thought."

Emu was now stepping backwards in fear.

"You are no longer Emu Hojo, or Genius Gamer M. You are nothing more than a mass of death in the shape of your former self. A repulsive homicidal maniac, driven by hatred towards the living."

"No… I don't want… to be any of those things!"

"Why the hesitance now? You've only ever been aiming to ascend in order to kill, no?"

Emu opened his mouth, but he could speak. He racked his brains trying to remember.

 _What was… I ascending for again?_

"You never had a future. You ascend in order to kill, and you were born in order to die. You were formed from the scraps of failures."

As Emu tried to respond, he felt a sudden pain in his head. He grabbed his face with his hands, trying to stop himself.

 _Stop… stop this! I'm not like this! This isn't me! This isn't-_

But this time, there were no voices in his head.

Just himself.

And what he said was

 _Yes, I am._

And his eyes flared purple again.

* * *

When Emu opened his eyes once more, his vision was blurry. All he could make out was the other Rider, in front of him.

 _Wha-_

He suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest.

He looked down.

The other Rider had punched through his armour and into his chest, his fist poking out of Emu's back. Blood was dripping out of the hole in the armour, forming a pool of red beneath Emu's feat.

"Ah, that's right. You are already dead. Ripping out your heart won't be enough to put you down."

 _So he was right._

From the distance, Emu could hear running footsteps.

"Maestro!"

Emu turned his head weakly to the direction of the shout. Saber was running towards him.

"Sa…ber…"

Saber charged forwards and kicked the other Rider, causing him to fly backwards and hit the wall. She then turned to Emu.

"Are you alright?"

Emu clutched his chest, hiding the hole that the other Rider's fist had made.

"We… still need to kill him…"

As the other Rider recovered, Saber ran and slashed her sword at him. He dodged and jumped backwards. Saber continued her attack, all of which he dodged as well. As Saber went for one final attack, the wall beside her exploded, separating her from the other Rider. Rin and Ghost went flying through, hitting the wall opposite. As the dust cleared, the enemy Servant stepped through.

"Sorry, that wasn't happening." Rin called out.

"Not at all! You did well, Rin!" Saber responded.

Emu slowly made his way forward towards the fight.

Saber held her sword, taking a defensive stance against the enemy Servant. Suddenly, her head jerked forward, and she coughed up blood, collapsing to her knees.

"Saber!" Emu ran forward to help, but the pain got the better of him. He also fell to his knees.

"Heh. You did well to endure this long." The other Rider spoke.

"What?" Emu weakly groaned.

"My Servant's Noble Phantasm kills with a single blow. His first strike will assuredly obliterate his foe."

Saber fell onto the floor.

"She should have already known of this Servant. Yet she covered for you, even though you are not a Master."

The armour around Emu dissipated, and he coughed up blood. He collapsed onto the floor.

"This is as far as you go. Accept your punishment-"

Suddenly, a giant red fist crashed through the ceiling of the building. The other Rider and Servant jumped out of the way, narrowly avoiding being crushed by the fist. Through the crack in the ceiling, they could see a large Damashii with glowing red eyes.

"Takeru! While they're distracted!" Rin shouted.

Ghost burst from the rubble and ran forwards, taking out a deep blue Eyecon. He removed the Eyecon in his Driver and placed the new one in.

 **EYE!**

 **BATCHIRIMINA!**

Out of the Driver flew out a deep blue dress-like Damashii with fox ears on the hood and what looked like tails coming out of the back. Ghost pulled and pushed the lever on his Driver.

 **KAIGAN! TAMAMO NO MAE!**

 **KITSUNE OF PEERLESS BEAUTY! WITCHCRAFT IS A SPOUSE'S DUTY!**

The Damashii landed on Ghost's armour, with the image of an ornate mirror appearing on Ghost's mask. A similar mirror floated around Ghost.

The enemy Servant noticed Ghost's attack and charged at him, readying another strike. Ghost pulled and pushed the lever on his Driver again.

 **DAI KAIGAN!**

Ofuda started to appear, circling around Ghost's body.

 **TAMAMO NO MAE OMEGA DRIVE!**

He cupped his hands and drew him to his side, then thrust them forward with a shout. As the enemy Servant threw his fist forward, the Mirror and the Ofuda moved in front of Ghost. The mirror projected a water-like aura shield as the Ofuda spun round the mirror, swirling the aura into a spiral of red and blue.

The enemy Servant's fists hit the shield, which held under the impact of the strike. But it was clear that the defense was only temporary. Ghost continued to push as the enemy Servant attacked the barrier again and again.

 _I won't let Emu and Saber die!_

* * *

As rain poured through the crack in the ceiling, Emu crawled forwards, reaching out to Saber, whose body was beginning to dissolve into orange mist.

 _I'm sorry, Saber…_

 _You went through this because of me…_

 _It's my fault…_

 _But at least…_

 _I won't… be a monster… anymore…_

He closed his eyes.


	19. Chapter 17: Inheritance

Chapter 17: Inheritance

Takeru opened his eyes.

 _Where… am I?_

He found himself lying on a mattress inside a room in one of the abandoned buildings. The room was very large, with the ceiling out of view, and the walls were cracked and aged. Some of them were broken, exposing the outside view of the rest of the floor and the rain pouring down from the heavens.

He took his time to gather what he could about his surroundings, then slowly sat up, rubbing his head. He looked around.

In the centre of the room, Takeru could make out a figure in a purple jacket standing next to a bed occupied by a body. The figure was typing on a holographic keyboard as more holographic panels floated around her. As his vision focused, he recognised the figure. It was Rani.

Rani turned to face Takeru.

"Welcome back, Takeru. Have you had a good rest?"

Takeru got up and walked over to the other beds.

"Rani, how are you-"

She held up her hand.

"Not important. For now, you can just consider me a vastly more reliable supporter to Rin. I found you lying on the floor next to these two, and Rin was nowhere to be seen."

 _Oh, right._

Memories of what happened slowly came back to Takeru. He had been holding off the enemy Berserker and his Master from finishing off Emu and Saber with the Tamamo no Mae Damashii he obtained on the Fourth Floor. He must have been successful, but he couldn't remember exactly what happened afterwards.

 _Did I faint from exertion?_

"Anyways, where's-"

And then he realised.

The body lying of the beds next to Rani was Emu.

"Rani, what happened to them?" Takeru exclaimed, panicked.

She pointed to the screens. They all had complicated charts on them, but most of them were flashing exclamation marks and question marks.

"I've been trying to analyse his condition, but something's off. For all intents and purposes, he should be dead, but something inside of him is interfering with his death. I've tried all of my Code Casts, but his HP still remains at 0. I don't know what's going on."

"Then, where's Saber?" Takeru asked.

She put her hands into her jacket and pulled out the Saber Eyecon.

"I found her in this form. I believe that this is a vessel for her Spirit. She took too much damage during the fight and thus she retreated to Spirit Form, or in this case, this device. Normally, her Invictus Spiritus skill would activate, preventing her from dying from the enemy Berserker's Noble Phantasm, but said Noble Phantasm interferes with such anti-death methods, and as such, she is now in desperate need of our help. I measured that she only has enough for one more recovery from death, so it is imperative that we heal her. Someone needs to go into her Reality Marble and heal her from inside. That way, I can use her excess vitality to heal Emu."

Takeru took a second to take in all the information.

"Unfortunately," Rani continued. "I have never seen such a device before, so I am unable to enter it. I assume that you are able to?"

Takeru nodded.

"I understand now. Leave it to me."

He took the Eyecon from Rani's hand, and held it in his own. He closed his eyes, willing himself to be drawn into it, as he had done so with the other Eyecons he had encountered.

His form vanished and was absorbed into the Eyecon in his hand. Then, it fell to the floor with a clatter.

* * *

Takeru opened his eyes again.

This time, he was standing in a field in the middle of the countryside. On the horizon, he could see the sun set, and he felt a slight breeze on his face.

He looked forward and sees Saber kneeling on the ground. Her throat was sliced, and blood was seeping out. He slowly crept up to her, reaching out a hand. She opens her eyes and gasps, scaring Takeru.

"Forgive me. Takeru." She said weakly. "It is unsightly to be in this condition."

"No, not at all." Takeru responded.

He looked around.

"So, this is the inside of your soul, right?"

Saber nodded, grimacing in pain.

"That damned Noble Phantasm… I should have remembered. It guarantees the death of the victim, even if one has a Skill which prevents death. I tried to regress into this form, but now…"

She coughed blood.

"The Noble Phatasm forces you into an infinite loop of death."

Takeru understood.

"So this… is how you died?"

"Correct."

"Well then, we need to get you out of here. Come, I need to heal you, so you can heal Emu-"

"Wait."

Saber then raised her arm and gestured to him to come close. Takeru obliged.

"I know that I can be arrogant sometimes. That I steep my words with confidence and pride. That I maintain an annoyingly bright attitude even when it is uncalled for. I can be pushy. Insensitive. Flaunting. Obnoxious. For that, I apologise."

"No, no. It's fine." Takeru responded, wondering where it came from. "I never found you that annoying in the first place."

Saber smiled.

"Thank you. However, that attitude has lead Emu to think that I lived a life of auspices and joy. He believes that I am incapable of understanding anguish. Fear. Pain. Everything he feels now. As his Servant, I can feel it from him. I can feel that he suffers greatly, even now as he lies dying. Do you?"

Takeru nodded.

"So I need you to fight in my stead for him. Only a Noble Phantasm can counter his. But to release it, I need to tell you my True Name..."

She coughed.

"A Servant and Master possess two hearts beating as one, and the Servant will divulge their True Name as proof of that. I see now… why you are here. Not just as a warrior that wields the Heroic Spirits as allies, but as one who can connect with them. Interact with the soul of others. So that even when they cannot fight themselves, they can support Maestro and continue to help him."

"I concealed my True Name from him until now because I was afraid of you learning of my bad reputation. However, I cannot tell him it in this state. Therefore…"

"Let me tell you a story."

 _She was born at dawn._

 _Not as the legitimate heir to the Emperor, but as nothing but a member of the royal family._

 _Perhaps as a response to her illegitimate origins, she loved strangers more than she loved her own family._

 _She loved the nameless masses more than the notable aristocrats._

 _But nobody understood that._

 _Her great wisdom let her quench a great fire in a single night._

 _After the execution of her mother, the people saw her as a ruthless despot._

 _That was how she parted with her mother, who had thrown the country into disorder out of self-interest._

 _Nobody could understand the anguish it put her through._

 _Her excellence, her work ethic, and her frequent bouts of moodiness no doubt led her to be painted as a freewheeling dictator._

 _Indeed, it seems she made a small error there._

 _Her love was egotistical. Rather than being applied to everything, it could not rest until it took everything._

 _She wished to respond to those she loved with her entire soul._

 _But such a love was naught but a flame._

 _The love that others cherish is a gentler, softer thing._

 _That was what she failed to understand._

 _In the end, a rebellion forced her from her position._

 _The title of the Emperor meant "first amongst the citizens"_

 _No matter how much fault the Senate found in her, as long as the citizens didn't acknowledge it, he authority remained unwavering. The people served her devotedly, and her policies were beloved._

 _As such, she didn't think they would stand to see her forcibly abdicated._

 _But no such opposition came. The people simply stood by._

 _So she could do nothing else but end her life._

 _When the sun first set, she heard of voice call out to her, and she opened her eyes._

 _The sound was the cheers of her beloved citizens._

 _When the sun set a second time, she heard another auditory hallucination._

 _She opened her eyes, but she was alone in the wasteland._

 _And then, the sun set a third time._

 _Her loyal subjects came to her aid._

 _It was too late._

Saber fell silent as she finished.

Takeru mulled over the story.

 _Her way of addressing Emu. Her reference to the baths. Her Christmas Noble Phatasm. Invictus Spiritus. Her story._

It was all adding up in his head. Eventually, he stopped at one name.

"…thus ended the reign of the fifth Emperor of the Roman Empire. Nero Claudius."

Saber nodded her head.

"Correct."

Tears were starting to flow from her eyes.

"I died in despair, never having known the love of a father or mother, nor the love of the people. My life was one of a simple, lonely girl."

"But why tell me this?" Takeru asks.

"I can understand Emu's pain. He is on the brink of despair, having lost everything he held to be true, just like I did on this field. I do not know the nature of this conflict, but I know that it has reached a critical point. Please… help him."

"But Nero, what about you? Can't we save Emu together?"

She shook her head.

"The curse of that Berserker's Noble Phantasm remains. I can't be healed, as I will just keep on dying. We need to… defeat him… before… I can come back…"

The sun had almost reached its nadir. Her breathing became shorter and more rapid.

A drop of blood fell from her throat onto the ground. From the drop sprouted a beautiful red rose.

"That is why…"

She plucked the rose and, with a shivering hand, placed the flower onto Takeru's hand.

"I leave… the rest… to you…"

Then her head fell, and she went silent.

Takeru clutched the rose to his heart.

"I promise."

He got up and walked away as the night returned to twilight, keeping the cycle going.

* * *

Takeru opened his eyes again.

He was standing in the room once again next to Rani.

"Welcome back. Were you successful?"

Takeru shook his head.

"The curse of the Berserker's Noble Phatasm… I can't heal her, as it is still active. It will continuously kill her, even if I heal her. The only way to disable it is to defeat the Enemy Servant."

Rani nodded.

"Well, then, how are you able to fight? If your Servant is incapacitated-"

"It will be alright." Takeru said.

He held up his hands. In his right hand was the Saber Eyecon, and in his left, he held the red rose he obtained from Nero.

"I will carry out her will."

Rani paused for a moment.

Then, a small smile appeared on her face.

"I see. So that's how it is."

Takeru held the rose over the Eyecon.

The rose disappeared into golden mist and surrounded the Eyecon in fire. Its red became more glossy and vibrant, and the inside white scelera turned to gold. The Eyecon flared up, and the label on the top changed. It now read "ES-01 NERO".

Takeru now turned to Saber

"I've been able to obtain more information about him while you were away." Rani explained. "I believe that he is being possessed by the Deadface. The fact that he is unable to die is a signature symptom of Deadface possession."

Takeru had sensed that Emu was possessed by something for a while now, but the confirmation made him worried for his friend.

"Judging from his state as of now, his possession has reached an advanced stage. If we don't do something about it, then…"

She turned to Takeru. He didn't need her to finish the sentence to get the impression of what she was saying.

"Let me help him." Takeru said.

He walked over to Emu's body, taking out his Eyecon and places it over Emu's heart. Closing his eyes again, he willed himself to enter Emu's soul.

 _Don't worry, Emu. I'm coning to help you._

His form vanished, and his Eyecon entered Emu's body.


End file.
